Assassin
by MrDrProfessor4
Summary: After choosing not to kill Moka's mother, Akuha goes down a very different path. Fairy Tale begins to doubt her for her acts of mercy, and so the next person she is tasked with killing is important to someone she cares about.
1. Chpt 1: Target

**This is the first fic I've ever written, so go easy on me please. I thought there were already enough retellings of the Rosario+Vampire first season (Beat up Saizou, meet each member of the Harem, etc) so I thought I'd try something more original, even if it would be more challenging. I thought I'd start with a familiar scene with an alternate ending, making it lead to a different story.**

**YES, I know Akuha and Akasha have similar looking names and it creates confusion, but I'm not the one who thought of their names =/**

**EDIT: I never expected this to catch on the way it did, so I actually wasn't taking this seriously until about halfway through. I've also already started a separate story as a sequel to this one, which is much better written, so bear with me please.**

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**Prologue – The Shuzen Household**

Moka was being sent away, for reasons her mother Akasha would not say. Everyone took it hard, especially Kokoa who cried like a baby. They had just celebrated her 10th birthday party just a short while ago, and now they had to say goodbye to her… they probably wouldn't see her again for a very long time.

Akasha watched from a large window as Moka departed.

"You sure you don't want to say goodbye?" A voice said behind her.

Akasha spun around and saw the eldest daughter of the family, Akuha. "If I saw her face, I'd regret my decision." Akasha said, "Isn't that the same for you too?"

Akuha knew what she really meant by 'regretting a decision', and figured it was time she dropped the act entirely. "So I guess you already know what I came here for? Father also left for work early, perhaps you were trying to lure me out?"

Akasha said nothing, and just continued looking out the window again.

"Akasha, are you sure you're not regretting it?" Akuha stepped forward and continued, "Chasing Moka out of the mansion like that. I'm guessing that you sent her away because you discovered my intentions."

Akasha tore her view from the window to Akuha, "Yes, I have".

"To be honest, I'm quite surprised. I thought the two of you would never fall apart, no matter what happened. The two of you had a connection deeper than anyone else in this family. I was even jealous of you two."

"Jealous?" Sounding curious.

"I like Moka a lot too, and always had a warm feeling when around her."

"She was especially attached to you." Akasha said, sound much more cheerful.

"Yeah, we were totally different, making us a better match." Akuha said, but then changed expression, "Thinking about her always made me hesitate whenever I intended to take action. Before I knew it, an entire year had passed. She would be very sad if you died right?" They were interrupted as they heard someone else entering the room.

Both Akuha and Akasha were rather surprised to see Moka run in, but also relieved that they hadn't started fighting when she came. "Why did you come back?" asked Akasha, "I told you to stay away from here."

"I'm sorry Mother! I forgot the Rosary." Moka shouted as she ran in.

Akuha watched as Moka ran to her mother, they hugged each other. After seeing them both again right now, Akuha just couldn't stand the thought of taking Moka's mother away from her. "I'll go retrieve the seal," she started, "this is hard enough on the two of you as it is."

Akuha left the room and thought to herself. She had set out to kill Akasha from the start, but adored Moka more than she would have wanted to. Which did she care about more? Power? Her sisters? Akuha came back with the seal and finally made up her mind.

"Thanks Nee-sama," Moka said, taking the seal with her "and goodbye."

Akuha couldn't bring herself to say anything in return. She wanted to tell her to stay strong, she wanted to tell her that she was going to miss her, she wanted to say how much the last year meant to her. Instead, nothing came out, and Moka just sadly left the room. Akuha felt disgusted with herself. To think she was planning on doing something so horrible to her.

Akuha and Akasha just stood there in the room silently until Akasha finally broke the silence. "Well? Aren't you going to attack me? No one will get in your way now. We can get this over with."

"I came to this mansion to take your Shinso power, but after that, I'm not sure what I would do. I thought power and taking revenge on humans, whom brought me so much pain, is what would please me. But this past year has been one of the only happy times in my entire life." Akuha turned to leave the room as well, "Someone that I could care about, a sister like Moka, that was all I ever wanted." She laughed at how pathetic that sounded, but walked away nonetheless.

She chose not to kill Akasha, for Moka's sake.

XXX

**7 Years Later – Somewhere in China**

Akuha jumped off a roof with a flip, landing in the middle of her current prey. Four men surrounded her, two of them holding swords, ready for a fight.

The Chao family, most of them were already pushing up daises now, and all that was left of them were their main fighters. Akuha didn't pay much attention when told about her targets, she pieced together that they did something to piss Fairy Tale off, but Akuha didn't care, as they would soon be killed all the same. Akuha didn't normally tune out when given info on her targets, but the last few weeks had just been so boring.

For a long time now, every hit Akuha was sent on was always so easy, that she would purposely hold back let the fight last longer, but still not be satisfied. To keep things from ending too quickly she usually refrained from using the Hogetsu Jigen-Tou technique, a blade that can cut through anything by delaying existence.

Akuha felt each of the four men charge at her from all sides. They were so sluggish compared to her that in her eyes they moved in slow-mo. The Hogetsu Jigen-Tou technique was just too good for these guys, and so in hopes that they would amuse her, she decided to go easy on them.

She grabbed on of them by the necktie and lightly kicked him away, ripping the tie off of him. While holding the tie, she caught the next man's hand with it while he tried to punch her, wrapping it around his wrist like a handcuff. She then swung the guy around by his wrist like a flail weapon, whacking the other three men. She then pulled the tie tighter, causing it to release the man like a slingshot at his comrades. The four men got up, fear in their face, but not looking like they would give up. They seemed more angry than afraid.

"If you hate me... hate yourselves for making an enemy out of me." Akuha simply said as they tried to attack again.

She caught the arm of one of the men and used him as a human shield, letting one of his comrades stab his sword into him. She then pulled a knife out of his pocket as another man came from behind with an enormous sword. She easily blocked the large blade with the small knife, not that it would harm her anyways. She then flipped away throwing the knife right between the eyes of another man. With two combatants left now, Akuha felt even more disappointed than usual.

One man charged at her again with a large sword raised. In the middle of his vertical slash, Akuha just swatted the sword aside, sending it flying out of his hands. She let the man run to retrieve his weapon, as the other man let out a flurry of attacks, which she dodged easily. She considered dancing around with her eyes closed while hearing out his attacks to dodge them, but decided they had bored her for long enough.

Both men tried to cut Akuha up from both sides. They both tried to stab her, but she jumped straight up and landed her hand on both their blades, grounding them. While upside-down on her hand, she did the splits and kicked both of the fighters simultaneously. She hit them a little harder than she would have liked though, as both of them had their faces smashed beyond recognition. Akuha got up and sighed to herself, as the two men were dead before they even finished falling to the ground.

These men weren't just weak, they hardly knew how to fight. But she had to admit they were persistent.

XXX

Much later, Akuha returned to Fairy Tale for her next assignment. She walked into a dark, faintly lit room and took a seat at a wooden table, above it was just one flickering light. Across the table from Akuha, sat a dark figure, giving her information about her next target.

"His name is Tsukune Aono, he's one of many students that go to Yōkai Academy", said the dark figure as he held up a school photo of him.

"You want me to kill this guy?" Said Akuha as she grabbed the photo as it was handed over, "It's one thing to say he doesn't look tough, but this guy looks really weak. What's the catch?"

"'The catch' is that you are not to kill him, not yet anyways." The dark figure laughed to himself for a bit, "You are to first find out everything about this boy."

"And how would you have me do this?" Akuha asked the man cloaked in the shadows.

The only response he gave was simply, "Do it…"

Akuha wondered why she was given an assignment other than just killing someone, but knew not to question orders, "Ah, you don't care as long as I get the job done then."

The dark figure only nodded, and handed forward a piece of paper, data on the target. It didn't seem to have anything important on it besides Tsukune's location of residence.

"You really don't have any more info on this guy?" Akuha asked.

"No, nothing at all. That's for you to find out."

"What's so important about him?"

He didn't answer, he only stared back with an empty look

It didn't take a genius to notice that there was a lot more to this. Still, this wasn't the first time he would give her an assignment and leave her in the dark. It annoyed her. "Look, just tell me everything you know about the target so I can do my job."

"A skilled assassin such as yourself would require no more that what I have already given you, now go." He ordered.

Akuha rolled her eyes and stood up, leaving the room.

A minute went by after she left until Miyabi Fujusaki, another member of Fairy Tale, entered the room.

"We know a lot more about the target than you told her, why did you withhold information from her?" Miyabi asked.

The dark figure didn't even look in his direction, "While I admit I am a little curious what monster Tsukune is, I could care less about him entirely."

"Then what's the whole point of sending our best assassin after someone as insignificant as this boy? It seems like a waste of good talent."

"Because the one I'm interested in is Akuha." the figure said, "Something else I didn't tell her is that the target is a close friend of Moka, Akuha's little sister."

"Ah, this is some sort of test then?"

"Not exactly, 7 years ago Akuha failed to bring herself to kill one of her targets," the dark figure then smiled, "we can't have our best assassin held back by such childish weaknesses, not when considering our plans involve Moka's Shinso power."

XXX

**Summer Time**** – ****Tsukune's Home Town**

Akuha stood on a sidewalk wearing blue contact lenses on her eyes and a black sundress. She watched her target at the other side of the street. He was eating a snack alone at one of the outside tables at a fast food restaurant, probably because it was a nice day out.

"Why did they pick me for this job?" She thought to herself, "Investigations and spying isn't my area of expertise."

Akuha sighed to herself, not knowing how to approach this 'Tsukune Aono' boy. Maybe she could pretend to have an interest in him and befriend him? Talking to boys has never been something she was any good at though. In the past she just walked right in and killed everyone, provided she wasn't told otherwise. She never masqueraded as someone else or snuck around to get to her targets. She never had to as she had the strength of a vampire.

It then clicked in her head the memory of being in the Shuzen Household. Indeed she was acting at that time, and she was good at it, but she didn't make up a false identity or anything. She really was blood related to Moka and her other sisters, having the same Father but different Mothers.

"Moka…" Akuha started to drift off into space before finally dismissing it. It was all in the past.

She crossed the street and focused back on her target, looking at him closely. Seeing anyone in the flesh always told more than a photo, like the holy lock she could see on his wrist, probably to keep his human form.

Tsukune wasn't the most handsome guy around, but something about him did look slightly appealing. Tasty perhaps? Humans looking that way to her came with being a vampire.

"Wait a moment… Human? This boy goes to Yōkai Academy." Just by looking at him, her vampire instincts told her she was looking at a human. Then again, different monsters have had different ways of disguising themselves. Some would use illusions, some would shift-shape, some would seal off their power, and some would literally transform into a human. The last case is rare but not unheard of.

She hated humans, and didn't know if she could keep herself from killing one, even when vital to the assignment. She set the thought aside for later, maybe talking to him would help straighten things out. He was wearing a magical seal after all, meaning he couldn't be human. Why else would he have it?

XXX

Because it was summer break, Tsukune was back in his hometown for a while. He was daydreaming again, thinking about Moka, thinking about her last letter to him, and thinking about what he would write back. It interfered with his summer part-time job he had during the week, but thankfully today was Sunday.

While still thinking about Moka, he finished his short lunch, and got up. He started towards the garbage can to throw away any trash he had. When he was just about to reach it, he bumped into someone, apparently also trying to throw something away.

Akuha had purposely bumped into his side in front of the garbage can, trying to make it look like an accident. She thought it would look much less awkward than a stranger walking up to him and asking him strange questions.

"Sorry, my head was in the clouds." Tsukune said as he turned to see whom he bumped into.

"Oh, its alright." Akuha responded, faking a friendly smile.

Tsukune looked at her for a moment, she looked very pretty. The smooth skin she had, her legs, the curves from her hips to her thighs. Her breasts were only average sized though.

"What?" Akuha put her hands on her hips, "See something you like?"

Tsukune laughed a bit tried to fight down a blush. He was mainly attracted to Moka, maybe Kokoa a bit when they first met due to her resembling her sister. This other girl in front of him now also seemed to remind him of Moka just a bit at first glance.

"My name is Akuha, what's yours?" She asked.

To be continued in next chapter

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**This only took 15 minutes to think up, and a bit longer to type. I may or may not continue this based on people's reaction. Am I any good? Does it need work? I didn't have any beta readers for this chapter.**


	2. Chpt 2: Freelancer

**Note: I know vampires don't like water. Sure snow is made of water, but it's frozen and not exactly purified. Moka has been hit by a snowball in the manga and wasn't bothered by it (other than the kinetic force).**

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**7 Years Ago – The Shuzen Household**

It was snowing outside, and snowing hard. No, it wasn't Christmas or anything, rather it was near the end of January.

A nine-year-old Moka looked out a large window at the snow. She had seen it snow around here a couple of times, but only in little amounts. It was almost a foot deep in snow outside today. Since she and her sisters were all bored stiff inside the house, they decided to go out.

Akuha had never been fond of the snow, but her stepmother Akasha insisted she watched her younger sisters while they were out of the house. Akuha remembered Chinese mobsters attacking Moka out here once.

Moka, Kokoa, Kahlua, and Akuha all went for a walk in the snow. All of them wearing rather thick fur coats. Akuha's was black, like everything else in her attire. Vampires didn't get sicknesses like colds, but the four of them could afford the luxury of staying warm.

Akuha stopped and looked up at the falling snow. Her eyes trailed some of it until it fell around Moka's silver hair. It just fit right along with the white sno- *SMACK* Akuha's thoughts were interrupted as she felt a snowball hit the side of her face.

Kokoa, being the one who had thrown the snowball, pointed and laughed. "Ahahaha-" She was quickly cut off when an enormous snowball bigger than she was crashed into her, burying her under a huge pile of snow.

Akuha giggled a bit. She scooped up such a gargantuan snowball and threw it so quickly, having the speed and strength of a vampire of course. Part of the ground was noticeably absent of snow.

Kokoa popped out of the heap of snow like a mole, "You're gonna pay for that!" She shouted. She was then hit by another snowball, normal sized though.

Kahlua had thrown it, much to everyone's surprise. Everyone knew that Kahlua didn't enjoy violent activities, even if she was good at them. Still, Kahlua was into 'cute' activities. "Snowball fight!" She shouted as Moka threw a snowball at her face.

Whenever it snows, girls usually made snow angels and ice-skated while boys built forts and had snowball wars. However, the four girls were vampires, creatures that instinctively love to fight, and so they began a free-for-all snowball fight. They made a simple rule, get hit once more and you're out of the game.

Kokoa picked up and threw snowballs the speed that an automatic rifle would fire bullets. Akuha dodged the snowballs thrown at her the same way she dodged knifes during her combat training years ago. She then back-flipped and grabbed onto a tree branch, swinging below and above it like a gymnast and then propelled herself high into the air. She flew right over Kokoa and landed behind her, throwing a snowball at her back, knocking her down.

Kahlua picked up a large amount of snow and squeezed it together tightly. With the strength of a vampire, she made it even denser than a rock. She then tossed it at Akuha, who dodged out of the way. The snowball slammed into a nearby boulder, evidently causing a crack in it. Akuha then hopped up and stopped another dense snowball by catching it between her ankles. She then landed on her hands, and front flipped forward, releasing the snowball back at Kahlua. As dense as it was, it hit Kahlua around the waist and thankfully didn't hurt her much.

Moka and Akuha were the only ones left in the game now. Akuha sprinted forward and ducked underneath more snowballs by power sliding. She got up to Moka's left, ready to throw a snowball at her as well. Akuha felt herself hesitate. For some reason she instinctively just stopped when she looked at whom she was going to throw the snowball at. She knew it wouldn't hurt her but- *SMACK* Moka threw a snowball right in Akuha's face.

Akuha wiped off the snow that was all over her, "You win." she said congratulating Moka. None of them were sore losers, as they all laughed together. Moka cheered at the victory she had.

They misused the powers of a mighty vampire for something as immature as a snowball fight. "Perhaps I'm becoming a little soft." Akuha whispered to herself. Still, her sisters were having fun, and she had to admit she actually enjoyed it too.

XXX

**Present Time – Tsukune's Hone Town**

In complete contrast to the snow back at the Shuzen mansion, it was a very warm, sunny day.

Akuha and Tsukune were walking along the sidewalk, talking to each other. Even though Akuha already knew who Tsukune was, they introduced themselves. Akuha was careful not to tell him her last name though.

"Truth is, I'm new to this town," Akuha explained, "I was hoping someone could show me around."

While Tsukune didn't particularly have an interest in the girl, he has always been very good-natured. "Well cause its Sunday, I got the whole day to myself. I suppose I got some time to kill."

Akuha and Tsukune walked around town with each other. Tsukune seemed to be the social type, and was always eager to make new friends. They took turns telling the other about themselves, nothing too personal though. Akuha explained that she was 16 years old. It was a lie, but like all vampires, she stopped ageing and really did look Tsukune's age.

Lying was like an art. Akuha mixed truth with some of her lies. It was true she had just arrived at this town, but she really could care less about sight seeing.

Tsukune explained a few things about himself. From what Akuha could tell, there was nothing noteworthy about him at all. She figured he was good-natured, and had a boring, ordinary life.

"It's a very hot day, aren't you a bit sweaty in that?" He asked her, glancing at the black sundress she was wearing.

"Well, maybe a bit." Walking in the sun was indeed bothering her.

Tsukune went to quickly buy a vanilla shake for her at a nearby stand they were passing by. Akuha felt a bit surprised, as he was buying something for someone he had just met. "Maybe he's a little too good natured," Akuha thought to herself, "that certainly makes my job easier at least."

"Why are you wearing black on a sunny day like this?" He asked with a smile.

Akuha accepted the shake from him, "I like wearing black, and I grew up in places that didn't see the sun too often." Akuha looked at the vanilla shake. It reminded her a little bit of that snowball fight she had with her sisters. She never really liked snow until that day.

"I've been rather bored during this summer," Tsukune said, "it's just not the same without having my friends from school to talk to."

"What school do you go to?" She asked.

"Uh… I erm… well…"

"Come on, the name of the school you attend doesn't just slip your mind."

"It's called Yōkai Academy, its an _ordinary_ school with _ordinary_ students."

"You seem pretty defensive about something as trivial as your school's name". Akuha said taking a sip of the shake, "Wow, this tastes delicious."

"Well shouldn't it? You sound as if you've never had one before." Tsukune said, happy to change the subject.

"Well, I actually haven't had any kind of sweets for months. I have a very healthy diet."

"Are you a gymnast or on some sports team? You do look like you exercise regularly."

Akuha thought to herself for a moment, "Uh… yeah, sure I am."

Akuha continued drinking the shake as they walked. The closest thing she had to dessert for the longest time had just been apples. Because of her job, she always kept the healthiest diet you could imagine. Besides blood, all she ever had was fruits, vegetables, some meat, and a lot of rice.

"So, what are you doing here in this town?" Tsukune asked her.

"During the summer, I like to freelance around." Not true, she went from place to place on assassinations all year round.

"What places have you been to?"

"I went to Paris once and stood at the top of the Eiffel Tower." Half true, she hung someone off by the ankle at the top of the Eiffel Tower to interrogate him.

"Nice, what else did you see in Paris?"

"I saw a lot of famous artwork in the Musée du Louvre." Half true, she a heck of a lot more than just see the artwork… she stole some.

"Seen landmarks outside of Europe?"

"I walked along Great Wall of China, not the whole thing of course, it's thousands of miles long." Not true, she killed off a tribe of Yasha in the forest near the Great Wall.

"Cool, you've really been places."

"All over the world, except for America. I wouldn't mind seeing places like Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon in the future." True.

Akuha and Tsukune just continued making small talk as they walked around. Akuha knew that there was a lot he would not tell her if they just casually talked. He didn't know she wasn't human, and students of Yōkai Academy aren't allowed to reveal its existence to humans. There also had to be a lot more than just him not being human if Fairy Tale had an interest in the boy.

Akuha wondered how would she find out what kind of monster he is. There didn't seem to be any way to ask him without making him suspicious. Maybe a way would come to her if she just hung around him a bit longer.

XXX

Behind them at a distance, stood a middle aged looking man in ordinary casual-ware. Akuha wasn't the only one that came to this town to kill someone. "There, that's the one who killed my creators." he thought to himself.

The man appeared to be around the age of 30. He had black hair and goatee, and was rather handsome. He was created to be perfect in every way after all. The Chao family was a group of inventors, architects, and creators. He had been away the day his 'parents' were attacked. By themselves, they couldn't fight, but he was their greatest achievement, their ultimate killer.

He had been following Akuha at a distance for some time. "That's her alright, but who is that with her? Her boyfriend?" He thought. The girl was certainly smiling and laughing around the boy. Maybe she came to visit him while off-duty. "I'll take away everyone you ever felt was important to you, just like you did to me."

He knew what he was up against, the girl he was after is known as the infamous 'Black Devil', a powerful vampire. "No worries, I've killed plenty of other S-rank monsters before, even other vampires, easily."

XXX

To be continued in next chapter.

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**I'm trying to have 1 fight per chapter, whether its in present time or a flashback. The snowball fight was this one's.**

**Trivia: The ideas for the snowball fight came from a real life one I had.**


	3. Chpt 3: Hit

**Although I'm incorporating humor into the story, I'm trying not to have any jokes that would seem out of place. This story is meant to be darker and edgier than most Rosario+Vampire fictions while still lighter and softer than Akuha's manga counterpart. She's a bit more sympathetic, but still a brutal killer.**

**Note: Moka is a horrible chef in the manga too.**

* * *

**Tsukune's Home Town**

Dythe. That is what his creators called him. He didn't know if that was _what_ he was or _who_ he was. Was it a name or was it a thing? It didn't matter to him, and so Dythe is what he called himself, as his name.

"Assassin…" was all his 'father' muttered before he expired in his arms. Dythe swore to take revenge, and had tracked Akuha down to this town. He didn't want to strike right away. He wanted to see if she was close to anyone first, and the boy she was walking around with seemed to be just that.

Dythe decided to make his move later on at night. The crowds of humans everywhere would be a problem if he attacked right now; they would get in the way.

Dythe continued watching them.

XXX

A few hours had gone by and the sun was beginning to set, Tsukune and Akuha said goodbye to each other. Akuha was frustrated that she couldn't find anything out about him, but then again, she didn't expect to get much else done if all they did was chat. She had lots of time and many other methods to try. Starting simple just seemed like a good idea.

Tsukune walked back home alone. It was beginning to get dark pretty fast. Halfway back home, a hand reached over his shoulder from behind him and grabbed him in the face. Tsukune was about to yelp in alarm, it was certainly not anything he saw everyday. In fact he first thought he was seeing things. Was there something bad in the food he ate? Tsukune quickly found out that it was certainly real, as he felt it grab him.

The hand seemed to stretch and widen, not like it was made of anything elastic, but as if it were growing like a plant. Tsukune couldn't shout or see anything as the hand covered the surface area of his entire face.

XXX

**Akuha's Hotel Room**

Akuha arrived back at her hotel room in town. She sat down to collect herself as well as plan her next move. She had to admit Tsukune was a charming fellow. He was incredibly good natured and fun to talk to. He may be much younger than her, but age didn't matter to a vampire. Akuha was around 21 years old, but knew that she was going to retain her 17-year-old appearance… forever. Akasha and Issa, whom are husband and wife, had a massive age difference of over 50 years. It was very little in the face of their long lives though.

A bed, a table, and a few chairs, that's all that was in Akuha's little room. It was a place to stay at least.

She had a bottle of blood packed with her already but she wanted conserve it, and she previously had a lot of blood before coming to this town. She also decided that blending in and eating normal food like any human wasn't a bad move.

She ordered room service, having a drink and a bit of food delivered to her. She tried taking a sip of the juice she was given.

It tasted horrible, "Yikes! This juice tastes like the Blood of Christ… and I'm a vampire!"

She looked down at the dish prepared for her. All the food was so stale and decayed, that they looked like they were older than Issa, her Dad. Akuha just threw all the food in the garbage. She sat down again, figuring she would take a sip of blood from the bottle she brought with her after all.

She thought to herself, "I haven't seen food that bad since…"

XXX

**7 Years Ago – The Shuzen Household**

Akuha remembered how great of a cook her stepmother Akasha was. A higher being like a vampire usually never needed to learn how, plus there was always blood to drink as an alternative. Still, Akasha learned to cook food anyways and was good at it to. Probably having to do with being so motherly and gentle, _too_ gentle for a vampire actually.

During the winter, Akasha had normally baked very great tasting, warm chocolate chip cookies. Akuha never ate them, but Moka liked them as much as she liked human blood, and that was certainly saying a lot.

One day when Akasha was out of the house, a nine-year-old Moka had tried to mimic the cookies. She followed the recipe from the cookbook as best she could. When she was finished, she offered a tray of them to Akuha, who would be the first to try one.

"Nee-sama," Moka said with a smile, "please try one."

Akuha picked up one of the cookies and took a bite out of it. Her eyes shot wide open as if she had seen a monster... well… as if she had seen something scary anyways. It tasted something like gym socks, not that she's ever tasted anything like that before, but the mental image certainly came to mind.

"How is it?" Moka asked.

Akuha didn't know what to say, it was the worst cookie she ever tasted. "It's… uh…" Akuha gagged, "not bad." Akuha tried her best to keep herself from coughing as she forced herself to smile. Akuha was a good liar, but the cookie was so bad that even she couldn't hide it.

Moka put her hands on her hips, "Nee-sama, be honest, I can tell that you don't really like it."

Akuha sighed, "It… could use some work."

Moka looked disappointed with herself, "Mommy usually makes really delicious ones, but she wont be back for a couple more days, said she's visiting a friend."

"Who?" Akuha asked, feeling a bit curious.

"I clearly remember the name, 'Fuhai Touhou', I don't know who he is though."

Akuha faltered at the mention of the name. Fuhai Touhou was one of the three Dark Lords, and the current best Hogetsu Jigen-Tou user in the world.

"Something wrong, Nee-sama?" Moka asked noticing that Akuha was daydreaming.

"Oh, nothing at all." Akuha felt like trying get her mind off the Dark Lords for now. "Tell you what, how about I help you make a new batch of cookies? Think of these first one's as a practice."

"Sure!" Moka said, seeming happier than expected, "I was hoping I could get someone to help me with this."

They threw out the remaining cookies (they were just so uneatable) and began cooking a new batch. Akuha had never been much of a cook, but being a professional assassin meant she had to be capable of learning and adapting quickly. Cooking for the first time seemed easy enough as long as she followed the book.

"Why bake them for so long? Can't we just double the temperature and wait half the time?" Moka asked.

"That wouldn't work as well as you think. Just be patient, Moka." Akuha said.

Moka just crossed her arms.

"You didn't try that with the first batch of cookies did you?"

"I put the oven at four times the temperature so I would wait only one-forth as long."

They finally brought the cookies out of the oven and decided to share them with Kokoa and Kahlua.

They each tried them, "Wow, I'm impressed," Kahlua complemented, "Moka, did you make these yourself?"

"Of course she did! They taste delicious!" Kokoa shouted.

"Yeah, but I actually had some help from Nee-sama." Moka said. She was happy with the result, even if they weren't quite as good as her mom's. Moka smiled at her older sister. Without knowing it, it made Akuha feel a bit shameful.

Akuha got up and left the room looking depressed. "What am I doing?" Akuha thought, "Someone like me helping to prepare cookies?" she strode away, feeling confused with herself. "I came to this mansion to gain power, so I could obliterate the human world."

Moka followed after her, "Nee-sama, what's bothering you?"

"Oh, it's nothing, nothing at all." Trying to sound cheerful. Akuha was a good liar, but even she couldn't hide the despair she felt. Moka didn't look convinced.

Akuha exhaled. Spending time at this mansion was changing her, making her softer, and she knew it.

XXX

**Present Time – Akuha's Hotel Room**

Akuha sat looking out the window at the stars. She suddenly heard a loud bang on her door, it didn't startle her, but she put her guard up. She cautiously opened the door and found a knife stabbed into the other side of it. There was a piece of paper stabbed into the knife as well. She looked around, there didn't seem to be anyone else around.

Akuha grabbed the paper, and went back inside. She sat down at the small table in the room and looked at the paper.

There was a photo glued to it, of Tsukune bruised and chained to a wall. There was writing below it. It read, "Come to the scrap yard east of the town if you ever want to see your boyfriend again."

"What? **BOYFRIEND?**" Akuha yelled.

XXX

Akuha calmly walked through the town at the dead of night, midnight in fact. She now was dressed in her usual black cloths that she went on missions with.

"I don't really care if Tsukune dies," She thought, "but my task is clear. I can't have him dieing before I get the information I need." She knew that she was going to kill him herself later on, once she was given the green light to. Still, her next move right now was quite obvious: save his life.

She continued walking and decided that saving his life might even benefit her a bit. A way to reveal she isn't human without making it look like something was out of place. It still would seem like more than a coincidence for Tsukune to meet the only person in town that wasn't human. Akuha felt confident that she could talk her way around that though. Tsukune seemed like the type that would trust easily.

From Tsukune's perspective, she was someone keeping her powers a secret, but then blowing the secret to save the life of a friend. She would then find out that her friend was a monster as well by chance. "That's what things would look like to Tsukune anyways", Akuha thought, "and it would make sense from his point of view".

XXX

**Scrap yard**

Tsukune's captor beat him, bruising him and nearly breaking his ribs. He wasn't asked any questions, just captured and beaten without a word.

Was this guy from Yōkai Academy? Was he related to one of the students Moka beat up?

Tsukune knew he was abducted by some kind of monster he had never seen before. Any human would have been scared to death, but Tsukune wasn't scared _that_ much. After attending Yōkai Academy for so long, he's seen plenty of monsters of all shapes and sizes. He had long since gotten used to the feeling of monsters being around him, even if he was just human.

Being held by this mystery captor still did feel terrifying, but in the way being held by a human punk with a knife would be. He was scared, but familiar with this situation.

Why did he feel like Moka or the other girls were coming to rescue him? He had been through so many ordeals in the past and come out ok, but only because they had come and rescued him.

"No one is coming to save me," Tsukune admitted to himself, "not this time." At that thought, he started to rapidly give into hopelessness. He may never see his friends again, he may never see anyone ever again after this night. "Moka…" the thought of her echoed through his head. If he could just see her face just one more time…

Seemingly on queue, someone with a pair of familiar glowing red eyes strode into the scrap yard under the cover of night.

"Moka-san?" Tsukune called astonished. It was her, Inner Moka. He could hardly see her in the night, but her red eyes and cold stare were clearly visible.

Dythe stood up, welcoming her, "About time, a little later and I would have considered killing your boyfriend before you got here."

To Tsukune's surprise, Inner Moka called out in a different voice, "He's not my boyfriend!" She stepped into the moonlight.

Tsukune's eye's widened. It wasn't Moka, it was the girl he met earlier today, Akuha. She had removed her contacts, and so her eyes glowed blood red in the dark.

"You're a vampire?" He shouted.

XXX

A middle-aged man with a goatee stood there in the scrap yard. Akuha was there in front of him.

Akuha decided she would give Tsukune an explanation later, a false one of course. She knew what she was going to do now. She was going to kill again.

No one remembers how many steps they've taken, how many times they've sneezed, or how many time's they've blinked. It's just too insignificant to keep track of. The same went for Akuha and killing people, she just thought so little of it. She couldn't even begin to count how many people she's killed. She's been killing for so long that she felt nothing whenever she took a life. Killing and lying, it was all she was good at, and so it was all she ever did her whole life. There was no other place for her and she accepted it.

Akuha shot forward faster than the eye could see. She punched Dythe right in the face. To her surprise, his head wasn't split apart. Most people she punched were torn apart like tissue paper, but this guy seemed to be incredibly resilient.

"You're pretty tough." Akuha said.

"I'm the Chao family's greatest creation." Dythe said in a gruff, almost frightening voice.

Akuha laughed. "The Chao family? That group of weak trash?" It became clear what this man's motives were, revenge.

Akuha zoomed forward and grabbed Dythe's head. With a firm grip, she jolted his head incredibly hard and fast to the side, snapping Dythe's neck with a loud snap. He fell over on the ground, dead.

Akuha fought the urge to laugh at her opponent as well as spit on his corpse, not wanting to look too nasty in front of Tsukune.

Akuha thought quietly, "No different from the rest of the worthless scum he belonged to."

She walked over to Tsukune, and broke the chains off of him with her bare hands.

"Incredible, you were a vampire the whole time?" He said standing up.

"Yeah." Akuha began, "You see, I noticed that magical seal on your wrist and so I thought I'd-" She was suddenly interrupted as she felt something behind her. She was struck so hard in the back that even _she_ felt pain.

She was slammed into Tsukune. The both of them flew right through a pile of junk, out the other end, and landed on the dirt.

Tsukune came to his senses, and saw that Akuha right above him on all fours, dazed from the strike.

Akuha hadn't been hit that hard in years, and needed a moment regain her clear mind. She looked right below herself and saw blood dripping down Tsukune's face. Seeing fresh blood so close just made her instincts completely take over. She felt her face moving towards Tsukune's on it's own. She licked just a bit of the blood off his face… and it tasted inconceivably delicious.

Akuha let out a moan of pleasure before finally realizing what she was doing. She jumped off him as quickly as she could.

"Yeah, you're a vampire alright." Tsukune said to her, remembering how he met Moka and Kokoa.

Akuha felt a bit angry, but also felt her face turn red. A proud vampire embarrassed by this weakling? Still, she had to dismiss the thought for later and focus on the here-and-now.

Dythe, whose neck didn't seem to be broken anymore, walked forward and stood patiently, letting Akuha get ready first.

Akuha turned his direction, "This guy may prove entertaining after all." she thought with a smile.

XXX

To be continued in next chapter.

* * *

**Trivia: Every chapter not only has a fight, but also a flashback to Akuha's life in the Shuzen household, concerning her relationship with Moka. Also, the titles of each chapter are supposed to relate to terms used by assassins or hit men.**


	4. Chpt 4: Takedown

**Part of the reason why I had Akuha as the main character is that I didn't want fights to be only a kick and "Know your place". Akuha is a Kong Fu expert, and can fight more creatively and thoughtfully. Still, she's even stronger than Moka by quite a bit, and so I would have to pit her against tougher opponents as well as find ways to nerf her special technique. I had a real headache trying to look for an opponent that could give someone as powerful as Akuha a run for her money.**

**Wow, it's been 4 chapters without a beta reader. Most everyone I messaged didn't respond.**

**Oh, and Happy New Year everyone. I posted this at midnight where I am, right on the hour.**

* * *

**Scrap yard**

Akuha took her respective fighting stance, kneeling down and spreading her arms out.

Dythe didn't take any stance, he just stood there and watched her.

They both looked each other in the eye…

Tsukune watched, quite confident that Akuha could beat this guy if she was indeed a vampire. Moka always beat other monsters within seconds.

Dythe grabbed a large piece of concrete wall from a nearby junk pile and threw it. Akuha dashed forward and curled up into a cannonball, diving right through the small window space in the middle of the wall, and landing in front of Dythe.

Akuha kicked and Dythe punched, both as hard as they could. Both their strikes hit each other and an enormous shockwave erupted. Tsukune felt himself blown of his feet from the force of them clashing, and heard streetlights, glass, and windows nearby all shatter loudly.

Impressed by this, Akuha attacked again with her Youho Saishusui (Twist Step, Plucking Hand Strike). Most people would be knocked out by it for at least 3 days, provided they survived. The strike did connect, but Dythe hardly flinched at all.

Dythe retaliated by punching Akuha in the cheek, sending her falling back.

Akuha always felt something when she was fighting, fighting against someone who could last more than a minute. She rarely met a worthy opponent, and she loved the thrill of battle. When she killed, she felt nothing. When she fought, she felt ecstatic.

Deciding to go all out, Akuha shot forward like a bullet and grabbed Dythe's head, smashing it against the ground over and over. While still holding his head, she jumped straight up, high into the air and then dive-bombing his head into the ground with a loud smash.

Wasting no time, Akuha immediately grabbed a steel pole from another junk pile and stabbed Dythe into the ground with it, impaling him. While Dythe was pinned to the ground, Akuha kicked him as hard as she could, like a football. Dythe went flying, the pole was still stabbed into him and some of the ground he was pinned to came off with him. He crashed right through a brick wall.

Suddenly, from all the dust where the brick wall used to be, the steel pole was thrown like a javelin at Akuha. She just barely dodged it, as it was thrown so fast that it broke the sound barrier.

Dythe calmly walked out of the dust cloud. Parts of his body looked like they were punched in, just a little. Besides that, he didn't look very hurt.

Akuha couldn't believe the amount of damage her opponent could tolerate. It didn't seem like she was getting anywhere near the full extent of his endurance. She felt fear for the first time in an eternity.

Deciding that she had to end this before it got worse, she brought out her trump card. "Hogetsu Jigen-Tou!" She used the Moon Crushing Dimensional Sword. The technique delayed existence, and therefore could cut through anything no matter how tough it was. Akuha learned it to quickly kill enemies that were stronger than her, not that she ever encountered an opponent like that.

Dythe was split apart by the Jigen-Tou attack, vertically down the middle. Both halves of him still stood there, and blinked.

Akuha's eyes widened as Dythe just put himself back together. He looked as if he was never cut in half in the first place.

"I was not born, I was created." Dythe said, "I am made of billions of microorganisms. Every opponent I've ever beaten, I've consumed them. I gained their powers, abilities, and memories, and have added them to my own." Dythe started to rapidly change shape again and again to the forms of other monsters. All of them were S-rank monsters. Of the dozens of forms he cycled through, 2 of them looked like male vampires. "Every form I have is one of my many victims. I have no original form." He changed back into the first one he was seen as, "This one is just my current favorite."

Akuha felt her heart racing.

"I think I like your form a bit more though." said Dythe, "I can't wait to try out your Hogetsu Jigen-Tou technique."

Akuha remembered her briefing on the Chao family. They were weak, as they were all scientists and inventors. They tried to make 'the perfect monster', and whatever it was, it had killed over a dozen of Fairy Tale's most powerful members single handedly. Akuha was sent to take vengeance.

While Akuha was in the Chao family's laboratory, she destroyed every water tank that they were growing their experiments in. She assumed their 'perfect monster' was one of the many creatures that attacked her there, she was used to disappointments after all. A few of them were surprisingly strong and fast like an S-rank monster, but none of them surpassed her. She made quick work of them without the Hogetsu Jigen-Tou.

It seemed this thing in front of her now was the 'perfect monster' Akuha heard so much about. A monster made of microorganisms that devours it's fallen opponents, gaining their strength and adding it to it's own.

She knew she should have been terrified by what she was fighting, but she suddenly felt all her fear dissipate in an instant. She smiled and laughed sadistically, "Finally, an opponent I don't need to hold back against!" Such a powerful opponent instead made her feel thrilled.

Dythe moved so quickly that it felt like he disappeared. Even Akuha's eyes couldn't follow him. She instead felt him coming by feeling the ground beneath her. Dythe raised his right fist, but she caught his wrist, stopping his punch. He raised his other fist to try to punch her with his left. Akuha quickly chopped his left arm off with Jigen-Tou technique to stop him. She knew cutting him apart wouldn't hurt him, but it created an opening, and he seemed to respond to blunt attacks.

Akuha struck at Dythe's head with both fists as hard as she could. Harder than she's punched anything before. As Dythe slid backwards, Akuha moved to a nearby wrecked car and kicked it up into air like a soccer ball. She jumped up and side kicked it at Dythe.

Dythe tried to deflect it. It knocked him over, but the car went flying off to the side, landing outside the scrap yard with a loud crash.

Dythe's left arm crawled back to him, and reattached to his body. As if to show off, he got up and grabbed something far larger, a wrecked school bus. He held it above himself, the side of it facing Akuha.

Akuha braced herself as the school bus was being hurled at her. She used the Jigen-Tou technique to cut it vertically in half. The two halves fell on each side of her, missing.

The two combatants charged at each other to duke it out, exchanging punches and kicks. They were both taking equal damage from the other, but Akuha couldn't take nearly as much as Dythe could.

While they were both in the air, Dythe grabbed Akuha's leg and tossed her into the ground below. The force of the impact made a crater about the size Akuha was. Akuha jumped out of the crater, dodging Dythe as he landed down trying to crush her. She back flipped 3 times to move away and took a moment to relax herself.

Taking another combat stance, Akuha took a deep breath. Her opponent was practically invincible. Cutting him apart did nothing, and he was both stronger and faster than she was.

There was no doubt in Akuha's mind that Dythe could give even all three of the 'Dark Lords' a tough time.

"If an opponent is both stronger and faster than you…" Akuha whispered.

XXX

**7 Years Ago – The Shuzen Household**

Moka had dueled Kokoa _at least_ once every day and won every time. Tired of fighting her, she asked Kahlua to fight her but was rejected. It took a bit more courage to ask her eldest sister Akuha, knowing how much stronger she was. She accepted.

The two of them fought each other relentlessly on a barren hilltop just outside the mansion. Akuha was holding back of course, they were only sparring.

Akuha moved as fast as she normally did, but her attacks were sluggish and light compared to what she could really do. Still, even when holding back, her attacks were much stronger than Moka's.

Moka tried a roundhouse at her older sister. Akuha dodged and chucked a palm strike at Moka. The blow knocked Moka down and she tumbled over the ground.

Akuha watched Moka as she didn't get up, "Moka are you alright? I got a bit carried away there." feeling a little scared.

Moka got up looking a little dizzy, but not seriously hurt. "I'm ok," she said, "Lets keep going."

"You sure? Your vampire powers just haven't developed yet, I might hurt you beyond your healing capabilities."

"I am sure, Nee-sama. I want to become strong like you are."

"Moka, hurting you is not going to make you stronger."

"What do you suggest then? What other way is there to fight a stronger opponent than to get stronger myself?" Moka asked.

"Well," Akuha thought for a moment, "when I was your age, I managed to win a fight that I was outmatched in."

"How did you win? You were faster?"

"There's more to it than strength and speed, and there are other ways to fight than just head-on."

"Other ways?"

"If an opponent is both stronger and faster than you… use your head; you think of a way to even odds."

"That's it? Just use your head?" Moka said.

"Some may call it 'fighting dirty'. Still, a sharp mind can be an even greater ally than a weapon or any amount of power."

"Vampires like us fighting dirty? But that's disgraceful." Moka said sounding disappointed.

"Indeed, our kind never needs to resort to such measures." Akuha smiled, "We are incredibly powerful, yet why do we not already have the world at our heels? Why do we hide from humans?"

"Uh… its because there's more of them than us right?"

"True, but that's not all. Some individual Vampire Hunters have successfully killed many of us."

"Is it also because of our weaknesses like silver and water."

"Correct, humans have historically hunted us, _killed_ us even, but did they ever fight us head on?" Akuha sat down against a large cracked bolder, "A Vampire will always be far stronger than any human, and so to even the odds, they take advantage of our weaknesses."

"So you're talking about exploiting an enemy's weakness? But the both of us are vampires, how could I use that against you?"

"There's other ways besides striking a weak point, Moka. In the past I've seen humans hold themselves up in a house that was surrounded by a minefield. They fired mortars at the Yōkai species outside."

"Ah, so you mean 'use tactics to your advantage' then." Moka said, understanding what she meant.

"Yes, and even a vampire can do just that. Learning Kong-Fu easily gives me the edge against an opponent that has the same strength and speed as me. Regardless of what species you belong to, being prepared and using better judgment gains you victory. Look around you right now, see if there's anything you can use to your advantage in a fight."

Moka looked around the hill they were on. She understood what Akuha meant, but this barren, empty hill wasn't the best place to be taught how the environment could be used at her disposal. "I see a few rocks but…"

"There's _always_ something, Moka." Akuha said, picking up a small amount of dirt from the ground. "I wouldn't want it happening while we're just sparring, but if you had to beat me to stay alive, throwing dust in my eye's would increase your chances of victory."

"I don't think I like the idea of cheating though. What would it say about me?"

"How can there be cheating in matters of life and death?" Akuha dropped the dirt back on the ground, "Simple question: Do you value your life or your honor? Victory or pride?"

Moka, being a vampire, instinctively still didn't like the thought. She had to admit she saw logic in it though.

Akuha stood back up, "Honor and pride are no good to you if you're dead."

XXX

**Present Time – Scrap yard**

"If an opponent is both stronger and faster than you…" Akuha whispered, "find a way to even the odds." She wasn't as strong or fast as Dythe was, but she was still smarter than him.

Akuha was a great killer and a great liar, but she was also very cunning. Her ability to think very elaborately and creatively, even when under stress, allowed her to kill and lie even more effectively.

Akuha knew she couldn't kill Dythe if she fought him head-on. She thought very quickly of any ideas that might turn the tide.

Stabbing him or cutting him wouldn't harm the microorganisms he was made of, but he still reacted to being punched or kicked. Akuha speculated that it was from the microorganisms being squeezed against each other by the kinetic force.

Akuha looked around for any object she could use to deal more blunt damage, but there seemed to be nothing around that was sturdy enough. If only she had that pet bat Kokoa once caught, she could use its mace form.

Dythe moved to attack. Instead of dodging him, Akuha just turned and completely ran away. She suddenly came running back with a solid slab of concrete and smashed Dythe with it. Dythe tried to retaliate by punching her, but she ran away again, this time coming back with a motorcycle and her hands. After smashing it to pieces against Dythe, she ran away yet again and came back with a bed-frame.

She repeated the process of grabbing an object, hitting Dythe with it, and running away to snatch something else to whack him with. She hit him with everything, a broken television, a door, a stop sign, a table, a fridge, a car engine, an oven, a boiler, a kitchen sink…

"Hit and run? That's not very Vampire-like of you!" Dythe shouted. Vampires were a very prideful people. They choose only to fight toe-to-toe, just like the other 2 Vampires that Dythe killed, but Akuha favored victory over pride.

While guerrilla tactics were certainly hurting Dythe, it just wasn't hurting him enough. The scrap yard would run out of objects before he would be beaten. Akuha knew she had to try something else.

The microorganisms Dythe was made of weren't invincible but simply hard to attack properly. He had to have some sort of weakness, but what? Cold temperatures? Electricity? Some sort of chemical compound?

Akuha back flipped away from Dythe's next attack. She had to try testing different approaches and see if any of them would be effective. Dodging couldn't be kept up forever.

Deciding that piles of junk weren't giving her enough options, Akuha ran out of the scrap yard and onto the country road just outside it. She turned back around to face Dythe as he came after her. To her surprise, Dythe made it to the road before she did and grabbed her from behind in a chokehold.

Akuha did a flexible high kick that hit Dythe's face right over her shoulder. Annoyed at this, Dythe threw Akuha down onto the road, into the path of an incoming semi-truck. Akuha flexibly did the splits to duck incredibly low underneath the semi-truck, and stood back up after it had past.

Akuha saw a distribution transformer up behind Dythe, on one of the telephone polls along the road.

"Worth a try, electricity it is then."

She jumped forward and landed on Dythe's head, jumping off him to the power lines above. She ripped off a few of the power lines and came down, shoving them at his chest. A huge flash was created as the power lines all discharged on Dythe. The both of them were sent flying away from each other, landing on opposite sides of the street.

From what Akuha could see, the electricity didn't bother Dythe one bit. His chest had a massive burn on it however, and it wasn't healing.

"So, he's flammable eh?" Akuha looked around and tried to think of a way to create heat. Maybe she could take the gas from a car passing by? Unfortunately, no more vehicles seemed to be coming from either direction.

Dythe looked down at the large burn on his chest. Thankfully he could regenerate the damage by consuming someone, but the only thing that could actually hurt him was revealed to his enemy. He had to finish this quickly.

Dythe was weak to fire while Vampires were weak to water.

XXX

Tsukune had been watching the whole fight from the start. It was incredible. Not a single one of the battles he saw at Yōkai Academy could even compare to this one.

Every clash, every strike, and every quick movement created a shockwave he could feel a distance away.

Tsukune went as far as to wonder if even Inner Moka would be out of her league if she joined this battle right now. Akuha seemed to be a far more experienced fighter, and still she didn't have the upper hand against whatever her opponent was.

Tsukune looked down at the holy lock on his wrist, "I can't just stand here and do nothing!" Akuha was fighting this thing on his behalf, and given the trouble she was having, it was possible she might even die.

XXX

Now that his enemy knew how to hurt him, Dythe took out a bottle of purified water and ran too fast for Akuha to see. He smashed the glass against her and water fell all over her.

"Akuha!" Tsukune shouted. He knew from past experiences how much purified water hurt a vampire.

Akuha didn't feel it burn at all though. For some reason, she looked like she was completely unaffected by it.

"Do you think I'd be the warrior I am if I were caught by such an obvious weakness?" Akuha said, greatly surprising Dythe.

Taken from one of her past targets, Akuha wore a medallion beneath her shirt. If she ever came in contact with one of her natural weaknesses, the medallion would soak up all the damage. It wasn't perfect though, if it took too much at a time, the medallion would break and she would feel a full blast of the accumulated damage. In fact it would certainly kill her, even as strong as she was. "Dythe doesn't need to know that last detail," Akuha thought. It was best to deceive Dythe and make him think that she was immune to pure water completely.

Akuha looked around. There didn't seem to be anything she could use to create a lot of heat. "There's _always_ something," She thought.

The two fighters charged at each other again in middle of the road. Akuha knew she wouldn't last long against him, and so she tried something new. Something she never did before. _She pulled his pants down_, and it succeeded in surprising him. Akuha was given a brief moment to strike.

Dang, talk about fighting dirty…

There's _always_ something," Akuha thought again, "friction." She threw Dythe onto the road, not hurting him much, but then scrapped his body against the ground, dragging him around in circles at an incredible speed.

Like the way someone would generate heat by rubbing his or her hands together, Dythe began to burn. He burned very easily.

The entire front side of Dythe's body, including his face, was now charred and could hardly be identified. In rage, he finally knocked Akuha off of him. Akuha tried to tackle him before he could recover, but he moved too fast and grabbed her by the neck.

Akuha felt herself being plunged into the road, making a lot of fractures on it. Dythe then began beating her, punching her into the ground again and again.

Tsukune watched uneasy. Dythe was brutally punching and stomping on Akuha while she lay there on the road.

Most of the time, Tsukune wasn't a very brave fellow, but always displayed great courage when his friends were threatened. He had Moka's blood, and thus the power of a ghoul. He could control himself in his ghoul state only for a few seconds, so he had only one shot at this. One punch, he had to make it count.

Tsukune ran forward. It was a good thing he would have the element of surprise at least. Tsukune didn't fight back when he was abducted earlier so what reason would Dythe have to expect this? Tsukune's hair changed blood-brown and his eyes became that of a vampire's.

A mortally injured Akuha felt Dythe suddenly stop hitting her. She barley managed to open her eyes and saw Tsukune ram Dythe into the brick wall that fenced off the scrap yard.

Continuing Akuha's strategy, Tsukune ran beside the brick wall, scraping Dythe's head against it like butter on toast. Tsukune then quickly threw Dythe forward and reverted back to his human self. Thankfully he changed back before he went berserk and out of control. Ruby wasn't around to seal off his powers.

Tsukune was just a normal human again, faced with an opponent whose strength he couldn't imagine. "Now what do I do?" he wondered.

Dythe stood up. Between all the punches, kicks, countless objects he's been hit with, and burns, he just looked horrendous. It looked like someone had punched holes in a burnt, man-shaped tree. He let out a hideous roar. It was his true nature beneath the faces of all his past victims.

As the monstrosity ran at him, Tsukune stood his ground. Akuha seemed like a good person, and he would protect her, just like he did for his friends. Kurumu, Yukari, Mizore… Moka.

Akuha suddenly came into Tsukune's view. She sped forward and punched Dythe in his tracks with all the strength she had left. Dythe's unstable body broke apart after being burned so much. It fell to the ground and became nothing but a pile of ash. Akuha had taken him down.

Akuha suddenly felt woozy and began to faint. She was near death, and pushed herself beyond the limit for that one punch. She couldn't stand up anymore, and began to fall over. Someone caught her.

Akuha looked up and saw Tsukune holding her… and then blacked out.

XXX

To be continued in next chapter.

* * *

**Most action packed chapter so far. Tsukune has much more involvement in the next chapter thankfully.**


	5. Chpt 5: Assist

**Chapters 1-4 took a total of only 4 days to type, proof read, and post. Winter break ended now and so I don't have nearly as much free time. Chapters are gonna take much longer to come out =(**

**Note: I really don't like the anime, even if I reference it a few times. You may notice that the same character would have very different personalities when comparing their anime and manga counterparts together. I'm basing things off the manga.**

* * *

**Country Road**

Tsukune walked down the long road, carrying Akuha in his arms the same way he once held Inner Moka during her battle with Kuyou.

Akuha was unconscious and injured. The black leather outfit she wore was torn, shredded, and raggedy but she still retained her beautiful features. She felt warm and smooth in Tsukune's arms.

"She's got some explaining to do when she wakes up." Tsukune thought. Akuha was obviously keeping a lot of secrets, causing Tsukune to feel uneasy. Still, she saved his life, and probably had good reasons to hide the truth, whatever it may be.

Tsukune noticed a medallion hanging off from Akuha's neck, or what was left of it. It was broken and shattered by one of Dythe's punches. All that was on Akuha's neck was the chain for it.

XXX

**Tsukune's home**

Kasumi Aono, Tsukune's mother, was really getting worried. Tsukune had left the house in the afternoon and still wasn't back. Not only had he missed dinner, but it was now 2:00am at night. She tried calling the police, but a power outage interrupted her call. She sat home alone for a while, with a candle near her. Her husband had left town for business reasons and would be back much later. Her niece, Kyouko, was also out of town. She had gone someplace with her friends at school for the summer.

Much later, the power outage suddenly ended and the lights all came back on. As Kasumi began to dial on the phone again, she heard a knock on the door. "That must be Tsukune!" She shouted, running to the door and opening it.

It was Tsukune all right, but he was hurt. He looked like he had been in a fight with a gang of punks, and he had an unconscious girl in his arms. "Uh… hey Mom. I'm sorry if I made you worry."

XXX

Akuha was set down on Tsukune's bed and tucked in. It took a while for Tsukune to explain to his mother what happened. He claimed that punks jumped both him and the girl he brought with her. It didn't feel right to Tsukune to lie to his mother, but how could he tell her the truth? He was involved in a fight between two supernatural creatures and he long since knew that one existed.

"Her name is Akuha," Tsukune said looking down at her, as she lay unconscious on the bed, "she's a friend. I met her earlier today." Thankfully Akuha had her eyes closed; red eyes weren't easy to miss.

"She lives nearby?" Kasumi asked.

"No, she's new to town." Tsukune said, "Is it alright if we let her stay here until she's alright again? She's not seriously hurt, just uh… fainted."

Kasumi thought about it. It was the first time Tsukune had ever brought a girl home, not in the way she would have expected though. "Okay, she can stay here for a while." Kasumi said, and walked out of the room.

Tsukune looked back down at Akuha. When she was fighting Dythe earlier, her face looked like that of a killer. While lying down asleep on the bed, her face looked like that of an ordinary girl. She even looked sort of cute… relaxed and peaceful.

"M… Mo…" Akuha mumbled.

Was she thinking about her mother or something? Tsukune looked down at her and wondered: what could she be dreaming about?

XXX

**7 Years Ago – The Shuzen Household**

A nine-year-old Moka and her little sister Kokoa took a walk outside. They often played just outside the mansion. Last time they played inside, their father yelled at them for destroying the living room.

Kokoa asked Moka for yet another duel and Moka won again easily. After she helped her little sister back up, they heard a yelp in the trees. The two sisters went to investigate the sound. Behind a few trees, they found an Azeban laying on the ground.

_**Bite Sized Monster Dictionary**_: Azeban, a raccoon-like animal that is surprisingly intelligent. The only difference in appearance between it and a normal raccoon is the dull horns on its head and solid textures of their fur. They do many mischievous things, but only for enjoyment. They are not dangerous or malevolent and they make good pets if they like their owner.

_(Trivia: Azeban is a trickster spirit from Abenaki mythology.)_

The Azeban's left front leg seemed to be hurt. Feeling sorry for him, Moka decided to help him.

XXX

Moka and Kokoa brought the Azeban into the house.

"Uh… Moka…" Akuha said nervously, "Azebans are infamous tricksters and troublemakers. Are you sure bringing one into the house is a good idea?

"Normally it wouldn't be, but we're vampires." Moka said as she tended to the animal's leg.

"Yeah, it won't cause a problem as long as we keep an eye on it!" Kokoa said, sounding as noisy as she always did.

"Fair enough, but why donate your time to help it at all?" Akuha asked, "I thought you were the prideful one of the family."

Moka took out a few bandages from a drawer. "It has nothing to do with pride, honor, or being a vampire. I just saw it hurt and I wanted to help it."

Akuha frowned, "And what do you expect you'll get for healing it? If I were having a bet, I'd say it wouldn't be very grateful."

Moka turned calmly towards her eldest sister. She couldn't deny that she was thinking the same thing. "Nee-sama, now it's my turn to give you a lecture. You don't help someone only when you can get something out of it. Sometimes a nice act can be a reward in itself."

Akuha was already familiar with the idea, but had never bothered thinking about it. In a dog-eat-dog environment like the criminal underworld, you could never afford to be nice. "Moka, its one thing to bring in a cat, squirrel, or wounded bird, but this thing is different. Your inviting in something that you _know_ can cause us trouble."

"I trust him." Moka said as she finished wrapping bandages on the Azeban's leg. "I helped him after all."

A kind act seeking nothing in return, even when knowing that the one you help could cause you trouble.

XXX

**Present Time – Tsukune's House**

Tsukune watched Akuha as she lay there in the bed. He knew she was a vampire, and having her around his mother could be dangerous. Still, he decided to help her.

Tsukune was about to walk out of the room before accidentally sliding on a piece of paper. His mom cleaned his room until it was spotless while he was at Yōkai Academy, but after coming back, it got messy very quickly.

About to fall down, Tsukune tried to reach out and grab something. His hand accidentally landed on Akuha's upper leg beneath the sheets.

Akuha let out a grunt and woke up, seeing Tsukune grasping her leg. She wanted to shout "What are you doing?" but a spike of pain stopped her.

"Sorry!" Tsukune shouted as he stood back up, "It was an accident! I swear!"

Akuha felt a blush. Everything then suddenly flooded back to her. Meeting Tsukune, tasting his blood, and fighting Dythe. She resorted to fighting dirty to beat Dythe, but it still wasn't quite enough. She would have died had it not been for… Tsukune.

The pain Akuha felt from her wounds was overwhelming. Dythe hurt her a lot more than she originally thought. Every one of those punches he hit her with felt like someone dropping a steel aircraft carrier on her. Even as a vampire, it would take a long time to heal from wounds like these.

"It's incredibly late and we're both tired," Tsukune said, noticing that she was in no condition to talk, "We'll see if we can talk in the morning. You can sleep here, I'll sleep on the couch in the television room." He left the room.

The both of them had many questions for the other, but they were indeed too tired to ask them.

Akuha shut her eyes and tried to rest. "He is _terribly _good natured," she thought, "No one, neither human nor monster, is ever this kind-hearted to a stranger". He was being so nice to her, they saved each other's lives, and yet she knew that she was going to kill him later. The situation reminded Akuha of an assassination she couldn't bring herself to do… 7 years ago.

She felt herself quickly drift into sleep.

XXX

Later on when the sun came up, Akuha woke up to the sound of the door opening. She looked around the room for the first time from the bed she was in. Tsukune came walking in with two trays of food. Breakfast for the both of them.

Akuha tried to get up, but another staggering sense of pain stopped her.

"You feeling better?" Tsukune asked, "I know how fast a vampire heals."

Akuha was still in bad shape, "I feel a little better," she said, having the strength to talk, "I don't think I can stand though."

"Do you know who… or _what_ that thing that attacked us was?" Tsukune asked.

"Straight to the point huh? No, actually I was hoping that you could tell _me_." She was lying again, "Trust me, if I knew what he was, I would have had an easier time with him." At it was least true that she didn't expect something like Dythe.

"It was me he kidnapped, so I guess he could have been related to an enemy I made in school. Anti-Thesis maybe."

"Anti-Thesis?"

"Its a group of half-breed monsters. They were up to no good, but my friends and I threw a monkey wrench in their plans-" He continued on.

Akuha just stared at Tsukune, not blinking. She felt herself lost in her gaze as everything about Anti-Thesis or fighting Hokuto just went over her head. Something about Tsukune just seemed different. Ever since tasting his blood, he just seemed to glow.

"-and then after that, we…" Tsukune noticed that Akuha was looking at him with desire. "Uh… Akuha, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh, sorry." Akuha tried to look away from him, whatever he just said could have been very important, "I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but your blood tasted delicious."

"Don't worry about it, I've been told that before." Tsukune laughed.

"You've met other vampires?" Akuha said, still looking away.

"Yeah, Yōkai Academy is a school for monsters after all. Of course there would be vampires there as well."

"And what kind of monster are you?"

"Uh…" Tsukune paused at that question. In Yōkai Academy, it was against the rules to reveal your monster type, but he wasn't at Yōkai Academy right now.

"It's a simple question. What kind of monster are you?" Akuha repeated. "You already know I'm a vampire and I saw what you could do during the fight with Dythe."

"I erm… I'm human actually."

Akuha's eyebrow just lifted up. That was a joke right? She remembered seeing Tsukune's hair and eyes changing. "Half-human and half-vampire?"

"No, I was born human. I got vampire blood injected into me, and so I'm sort of a 'ghoul' sometimes. I go back and forth between them."

"Why would a vampire give you blood instead of take it?"

Tsukune shrugged, "…powers were locked with a magical seal. We got in some trouble one day and so I was given blood so I could fight back."

"And let me guess, that holy lock around your wrist nullifies the vampire blood, keeping you from going out of control?"

"Yeah, I can control myself only for a few seconds." Tsukune noticed that her guess was _exactly_ right, but she was a vampire so it made sense, "You seem to know a lot about this."

"I've seen a few rampaging ghouls in the past, and seen their humanity restored when given holy locks." Akuha left out that not all ghouls she encountered had a happy ending.

"Anyways," Tsukune said, "I'm sure you're as hungry as I am." He took a bite of a piece of bacon.

Akuha thought in her own head, "This guy was born as a human? How did he get into Yōkai Academy in the first place then?

Time passed by as they both ate breakfast. Akuha continued talking to Tsukune, now that he knew she wasn't human. Akuha lied again, explaining that what she told him earlier was true and just left the 'vampire' detail out. Unlike before, she felt a little bit guilty from lying.

Akuha tried to ask for the identity of the vampire that gave Tsukune blood. Tsukune was either dodging the question or he didn't think much of it. No answer was given. "Vampires are a solitary people," Akuha thought, "maybe they don't know each other and the vampire just didn't have any other options." She decided to leave it at that and not push it. He was suspicious enough of her as it was.

"You can stay here until you get better. It's a way for me to say thanks after you saved my life."

Akuha accepted the offer. Maybe this could work to her advantage. Finding out more about Tsukune would be easier if she was allowed to stay in his house for a while. She looked back at Tsukune, whom she felt drawn to again. "Is it alright if I drink a bit of your blood?" she asked Tsukune, "Just a sip. It would help me heal a lot faster."

"Ok, sure." Tsukune quickly accepted and leaned his neck over to her.

Akuha felt a bit surprised. Most people would be hesitant with giving blood, even if it was only a little. Either Tsukune was just _that_ good-natured, or he had done this many times before.

Akuha bit onto his neck as gently as she could, not wanting to give him any reason to not trust her. The blood was better than anyone's she ever tasted before, even other humans. Maybe he was just a rare case?

Akuha instantly felt better and got out of bed. She still wasn't in any condition to fight though.

"I think we need to get you some new cloths." Tsukune said, looking at her torn outfit.

"Your mother or cousin got some I could borrow?" Somehow the news of Tsukune being human didn't bother Akuha. She hated humans, but she didn't feel any hatred towards Tsukune for some reason. He wasn't an exception, nor was her disgust in his kind fading. It's just that when she looked at him, nothing felt human or monster. Tsukune was his name and Tsukune was all that he was to her.

XXX

**At the other side of town**

Jamison's Bar, it was a place for criminals, gangs, and tough guys. Booze and bruisers crowded the place, but sitting over in a corner of the bar was one normal sized man.

He was a bit muscular and stood 6 feet tall, but just wasn't ripped like the rest of the men in the bar. More noticeably, he looked like he was only 17 or 18 years of age. He wore a dark brown jacket and baggy brown jeans. He had red fingerless gloves, cut at his second knuckles. The hood of his jacket was over his head, covering his shoulder length, messy black hair.

A group for 5 large looking bikers walked up to him, "Hey kid, you're sitting at our usual place," said one of the bikers, "get lost."

The hooded man didn't seem to notice them, and just kept staring down at the counter.

"Hey, I'm talking to ya, foo!" One of the bikers grabbed the hooded man by the shoulder as he turned his head. There was a red headband covering his eyes.

"Deaf _and_ blind?" the bikers laughed to themselves, "Someone of your type isn't fit to be in a place like this."

The hooded man stood up from where he was sitting and faced the bikers. Apparently he could see them despite the headband over his eyes. He looked completely calm and emotionless. "Typical humans." He whispered.

Suddenly, all the lights in the bar shattered to pieces all at once. It became completely pitch black and the people in the bar all roared in confusion. One of the bikers felt something like a tentacle grab him by the throat.

A little bit of moonlight shined into the room and the biker's eye's adjusted. There was nothing picking him up, but he sure did feel something.

The hooded man looked at what he grasped by manipulating the dark. "No, this wont do," he said, "I can do better."

The biker suddenly felt his hands move their own, and began clawing at his own chest.

"Just choking this guy to death is child's play." The hooded man's face remained blank, "How about make him rip out his chest with his own hands?"

Like a puppet on strings, the hooded man controlled the movements of the biker's hands. The biker tore at his own chest. "What's happening to me?" the biker shouted as he screamed in pain.

"It's pretty straightforward," The hooded man said, "I'm just killing you first."

The biker dropped to the ground dead, the people in the bar saw it in the moonlight. He was nothing but a bloody corpse now. Suddenly all the doors and windows slammed shut on their own. Everyone in the bar all began to scream and freak out, trying to get out of the bar they were now trapped in.

The hooded man turned his attention to the next human. He knew from his memories that having power over another's life like this was supposed to feel fascinating… exciting… EXHILARATING! But he felt absolutely nothing, devoid of any feeling.

XXX

To be continued in next chapter.

* * *

**A new villain has been revealed. This one was actually suggested by 'cooking samurai'. Although I made a lot of changes, he suggested the appearance, name (to be revealed), and a little on the back-story. Whenever something fan-suggested is included, I'll credit whoever gave the idea.**

**Sorry about not including Kyouko. Anything and everything I could think of for her just didn't work out. I may have her come later though. About everyone in Tsukune's family is just so undeveloped. I feel I have to pick 'more focus on the characters' over 'more characters'. Don't worry, Tsukune's "friends" aren't planned to be absent in this fic.**


	6. Chpt 6: Committed

**I've been using the Rosario+Vampire Wiki for reference, so I'm pretty sure I do have my facts straight (I'm talking to you Tosh). **

**I'm not saying I'm immune to error. In fact, tell me if you see a mistake (private message or email only please) and I'll correct it. Please check the Wiki first though. Some people have sent me arguments about what species Tsukune is, about Akuha's age, and about Akuha walking in the sun. I know this isn't a big deal, but I've had almost a dozen of these messages so far, only 2 of them pointing something out that I really did get wrong.**

* * *

**Other Side of Town**

Last night, some riotous noises were heard from Jamison's Bar. No one could see what was going on as all the lights went out, and no one wanted to come closer in fear of whatever was happening. The police were called immediately though.

It was morning time again, and Jamison's Bar was a complete mess. The police restricted anyone to come near enough to see what was inside. From outside, the people gathered around could easily see that all the windows had been shattered and there was a bit of blood on some of the glass.

A detective walked into the 'crime scene' and just didn't know what to think. The entire room was littered in bodies. There was so many that the dead practically made another layer of ground. The detective looked away and tried to hold back a hurl. Every single one of these guys was so brutally killed. The thought of anything being capable of this was just inconceivable.

The detective pulled himself together and looked closer at the bodies. There was something even more bizarre about them. "It looks almost like they went mad killed _themselves_." The detective said. One man looked like he clawed his own chest out, another looked like he bashed his head against the wall until he died, another man-

The detective forced himself to stop thinking about it. This was the most inhuman, most atrocious, most nauseating thing he's ever seen. What diseased maniac could have done this? How could _anything_ do this?

The media was held back and not allowed to come near the scene. The police refused to make a comment of any kind.

XXX

**The Same Morning – Tsukune's House**

Akuha looked down at the small selection of cloths she was given and frowned. She had little to choose from. There weren't many women cloths around here that fit her.

"Problem?" Tsukune asked, "Don't worry, they're clean."

"I know, it's just…" Akuha hesitated for a moment, "I don't mean to be picky, but these cloths just seem a bit too colorful." She was of telling the truth this time, she had never worn anything that wasn't a dark color since she was 7. "I've always liked the color black."

"If it you like, I could go over to your apartment and bring back one of your own outfits."

Akuha quickly decided that Tsukune going through her stuff was a bad idea, "Oh no! I'm still ok with wearing one of these."

"Alright then." Tsukune nodded and left the room to let Akuha change.

Normally Akuha would take a shower before changing cloths, but she would need a special herbal grass to dilute the water first, which she didn't have with her. She put on a light blue tank top, a pair of white jeans, and the same boots she had on earlier. Next, she fished through her old outfit's right pocket for her blue contact lenses and applied them. Both she and Tsukune agreed not to let Kasumi know what she was.

Akuha finally left the room to where Tsukune was. "You actually don't look half bad in that." Tsukune complemented.

Akuha looked down at herself. Despite being new to wearing bright colors, she had to admit she looked pretty good in it. "Stay focused!" ringed silently in her head, interrupting her previous thought, "The whole reason I'm here in the first place is to investigate Tsukune."

It was the morning of the second day being in this town. Akuha had already found out a lot about Tsukune, though not the way she intended. Tsukune was a human that could become a ghoul in short bursts. Unusual, but not significant. Fairy Tale had to be interested in this guy for some other reason.

XXX

It was around 3:00pm now. Tsukune was out of the house buying groceries to help his mother, and so Akuha sat on the couch alone in front of the television. She boringly flipped through channels with the remote. It was the first time she did so in years. Normally she would never have any free time to do anything. She was afraid it would make her lazy, and she was always taking more assignments in hopes of a good fight.

"Heh, I'm easily distracted now aren't I?" She said to herself and looked back at the television.

While still healing, she enjoyed the first bit of leisure time she had in years. Eventually she stopped at a channel showing reruns of some old comedy show. She had never seen any of this genre before, and decided to watch it.

Three men were making a birthday cake for someone. They pumped air into a tiny cake to inflate it, making it grow very large. When they brought it to the person who ordered the cake, he blew out the candles and the cake made a deafening explosion like a bomb. Frosting covered the entire room.

Akuha laughed out loud, surprising herself. She had been exposed to so little humor over the years; probably anything could make her laugh. "Wait a moment," she felt reminded of something, "tomorrows my birthday isn't it?" As an assassin, she never worried about anything as immature as a birthday. She completely skipped over it the last 3 years without either knowing or caring. "Oh well, its not important. It's not like I ever celebrate it anyways."

XXX

**Underneath The Town**

In a large storage room somewhere in an abandoned underground subway, two monsters in their human forms, Griggs and Sheckley, were watching the news on a stolen television. Both of them were fairly large and muscular looking, and seemed to be of European descent. They got the overhead lights to work, and so the room was well lit. The news they were watching was covering the event now being dubbed as the 'Jamison Bar Massacre'.

"Looks like the boss went and had some fun." Sheckley said.

"Yeah, he went and had some fun while we're stuck down here," Griggs groaned, as he walked over to the wall, "I can't wait any longer. I want to pummel someone, steal something, anything but spend another day down here!" He then punched the concrete wall as hard as he could while making a loud war cry. The punch made a hole in the wall.

"Oh c'mon Griggs, you call that an attack?" Sheckley said and then walked over to a support pillar in the subway station. He side-kicked it while yelling loudly and it shattered.

"My Grandma can kick harder than you, Sheck!"

"Harder than you too, Griggs!"

"So, you want to see some _real_ punches and kicks?"

"Hah! You're on!"

The two large men began swinging their arms and legs around in a flurry while yelling a battle cry at the top of their lungs. At that moment, a steel door opened and the hooded man walked into the room. He came to a complete stop when he came across Griggs and Sheckley, rapidly punching and kicking into air while shouting like retards. The hooded man felt nothing as always, but from memory he knew what to say, "What are you imbeciles **DOING**?" He shouted loudly.

Griggs and Sheckley completely froze in silence at the sight of their ringleader, "Uh… nothing." they both said at once.

The hooded man walked slowly into the room and sat down. The lights over his head began to flicker.

"So boss," Griggs began, "we've been down here for days, what are we waiting for?"

"Patience Griggs," The hooded man said, "'The Black Devil' may be a formidable vampire, but she's not the one we want."

"What was the thing we saw her fight in the scrap yard?" Sheckley asked,

"Doesn't matter, whatever it was, it's irrelevant now." The hooded man seemed as empty as ever.

"And who's that guy we've seen her hanging out with?" said Sheckley.

"He's probably her boyfriend," Griggs said as he laughed, "you've see the way she _bats_ her eye at him."

"Yeah," Sheckley joined in with the laughter, "a vampire would probably fall in love with the boy _necks_ door."

"I bet she's having her favorite beer with him right now, _Blood_-light!" Griggs said, making another lame joke.

"Enough with the vampire puns!" The hooded man shouted, "I already devised a plan in order to-"

Griggs coughed, interrupting him, "Sorry boss, I need a tissue really quick, I'm _coffin_ a lot."

The hooded man put his palm to his face. Griggs and Sheckley were immature and annoying, but he tolerated them because they got the job done. They were unexpectedly quite powerful.

XXX

**Tsukune's House**

The day had flown by so quickly. Before Akuha knew it, it was already dinnertime in the Aono household. Kasumi had made very delicious looking nikujaga (Japanese dish of meat, potatoes, and vegetables stewed in sweetened soy sauce). As Akuha was their guest, they invited her to the table as well.

The nikujaga didn't just look good, it certainly tasted good too. Akuha very much enjoyed it.

"Why have the two of you stayed inside the whole day?" Kasumi asked as she ate, "I thought you'd both be gone on another date."

"What… date?" Tsukune sounded oblivious.

"He's not my boyfriend." Akuha said, "We only met yesterday."

Kasumi looked disappointed, "Oh… Well you are the first girl I've seen Tsukune bring home, as well as the first friend of his that's a girl."

"Actually," Tsukune said, "while at Yōkai Academy I made quite a few friends that were girls." A 'few friends' was certainly an understatement.

"She's quite pretty," Kasumi looked at Akuha, "she prettier than most girls your age, Tsukune."

Akuha did indeed look quite appealing. It's a common trait that came with being a vampire after all. When wearing her usual black attire and not hiding her vampire eyes, Akuha's intimidating look always overshadowed any sign of prettiness. When getting past all that, she was noticeably attractive. She had smooth skin, good hips, and long legs. One would say she would have a perfect body if her breasts were bigger…

"You showed her around town yesterday, so what seems to be the problem?" Kasumi asked.

"She's still hurt," said Tsukune, "so she isn't in any shape to walk around outside for a while."

Kasumi looked confused, "But I thought you said she just fainted."

Tsukune realized what just slipped out. He didn't mean to tell his mother that Akuha was hurt.

Akuha tried to think of something; a way to change the topic. "Uh… it's actually my 18th birthday tomorrow." Akuha didn't mean to let that slip out either, but she decided it wasn't as important. It being her 18th birthday tomorrow was half true, it was instead going to be her 22nd. She had already told Tsukune her real age, but the both of them agreed to hide that too.

"Fantastic!" Kasumi looked very exited, "Tsukune, you should buy her a present!"

Akuha felt irritated. She never cared about birthday celebrations and didn't like the extra attention it was bringing her. She never cared… never…

She remembered that there was only one birthday celebration that she ever cared for.

XXX

**7 Years Ago – The Shuzen Household**

Moka's 10th birthday was approaching. Akuha had been around during Moka's 9th birthday, but only shortly after coming to this household. The two of them just were beginning to get to know each other at the time. Today a year later, seeing Moka smile just made Akuha feel warm inside.

While in the living room, Kokoa showed Akuha the present she was planning to give.

"Check this out!" Kokoa shouted while pulling out a strange looking bat with a hamster-like body. "I caught this bat last week, he's going to be my present for Moka."

Akuha had to admit it looked kind of cute, "I'm sure he will make a great pet."

"It's for more than company," Kokoa grabbed the bat by the wing, "watch this!" The bat suddenly transformed into a scimitar (curved sword). "It can shape-shift into any weapon you want it to." Kokoa handed the bat over to Akuha, "Give it a try!"

Akuha accepted the bat, "Wow, he's certainly heavy for his size."

"He weighs about 100kg, eats a lot too."

"How do you tell him what weapon you want him to change into?"

"Just focus hard on the image of a weapon and he should turn into that."

Akuha thought of a Chinese Broadsword, and a second later the bat changed into one. "I'm impressed, he's an entire armory of melee weapons."

"Well you should be impressed!" Kokoa shouted with enthusiasm.

After giving the bat back, Akuha left the room and decided to look for Kahlua, wondering what her present would be.

XXX

Kahlua was in her room, brushing her hair.

"Hey there sis," Kahlua greeted her, "how's it going?"

"Hey Kahlua, I'm doing fine." Akuha said back, "As you know, Moka's birthday is coming up soon."

"Yeah? What about it?" Kahlua asked.

"Well, I was just curious what your present is going to be. Kokoa already showed me hers."

"So you want to see it? Alrighty then!" Kahlua went over to the closet and pulled out a huge stuffed animal. "Here it is." It had a big wide face, ears, and huge toothed smile. There were patches and stitches all over it.

"So…" Akuha said flabbergasted, "handmade?"

"Yup, made it myself." Kahlua laughed.

Akuha looked at it and didn't know what to say, it looked soft and cuddly, but creepy at the same time. "So is it a panda?"

"No" Kahlua replied.

"Some other kind of bear?"

"No"

"A cat?"

"No"

"…A monkey?"

"No!"

Akuha thought for a moment in silence, she couldn't think of what else it could be, "Are you sure it's not supposed to be a bear?"

"It's a bunny rabbit!" Kahlua yelled, irritated.

"Oh… a rabbit?" Akuha would never of guessed. The stuffed rabbit didn't look ugly, it just didn't look anything like one.

"How about you Akuha? What did you get Moka?"

"Well… uh… I don't have anything just yet."

"Don't have anything? You better hurry up then. Moka's birthday is only two days away." Kahlua placed the stuffed… rabbit(?) back in the closet.

XXX

Later that day, Akuha made it to a nearby mall (supernatural creatures got them too). She got there pretty fast. A strong vampire could pedal on a bike at speeds faster than a racecar.

Akuha looked around the mall from top-to-bottom, place-to-place, and shop-to-shop. What would she get Moka? On her pastime, Moka usually just practiced fighting with Kokoa, so what tangible item would someone give her as a present? The Shuzen family was very wealthy, and so anything that could be bought in a mall was already well within reach. What do you give to someone who has everything?

Akuha hoped seeing Kokoa's and Kahlua's gifts would give her an idea, but she still couldn't think of anything after seeing them. "Moka likes clothes." Akuha reminded herself. Moka was the kind of girl that would go shopping for cloths when she reached high school age.

Akuha went into a clothing store and explored the section that had Moka's current size. Akuha's eyes scanned through all the outfits until she saw a beautiful looking scarlet dress. "So Cute! I'll bet that'll look good on Moka!"

During Moka's birthday, the dress turned out to be her favorite present.

XXX

**Present Time – Tsukune's Home Town**

Tsukune was laid-off from his job when they heard he was hurt. He told them that he fell down some stairs however. He wasn't seriously injured from the punches he was hit with two days ago, and the bit of vampire blood in his veins healed him faster than a normal human. It also wouldn't matter to him even if he were fired. He only took the job cause he was bored, not because he needed money. He also had plenty of money due to never spending it, and his mother gave him the money he used to buy groceries with. With a not-so-normal guest staying at his house for a while, he was sure he wouldn't be bored for a while.

It was morning time again; day three of Akuha visiting this town. Tsukune walked on the sidewalk to the grocery store. He was just here yesterday to help his mother out, but his mom forgot to add a few other things she needed to the grocery list. Here he was at the store once more.

After buying what he needed at the store, he began his journey back home. He stopped just outside a jewelry store when something behind the display window at the front caught his eye.

A lot of rings, bracelets, and other expensive items were on display. What got Tsukune's attention however was a particular necklace. It had a gold chain, attached to a large piece of onyx shaped like a tear. The onyx tear had a gold frame around it. Both the dark onyx and the bright gold glittered. It was far from the nicest thing there, but it caught his attention because of how it stood out so much from the other jewelry surrounding it.

The gold on the necklace was only plating, therefore thin but still very shiny. Tsukune looked at the price for it. The original price was quite low in comparison with the other jewelry there, and it was on sale for a massive discount. Kasumi's words echoed through his head, "Tsukune, you should buy her a present!"

"It's Akuha's birthday, and I know she loves black." Tsukune thought, "She broke her old necklace trying to save me after all. It's the least I can do to make up for that." He wasn't a cheapskate, but he was also far from being anywhere near the lines of 'rich'. Still, considering the large discount, he had enough money, _barley_. He went into the shop to buy it.

XXX

Tsukune arrived home later and dropped off the groceries.

"Hey Tsukune, welcome back." Akuha cheerfully said from the Television room. She wasn't acting this time and really was pleased to see him. She was smiling without needing to think about it.

"Hey Akuha," Tsukune said as he walked over to her, "sorry about getting your old necklace broken."

"Oh its alright," Akuha said, "I can live without it." She always wore the medallion just to play it safe. She was usually fast enough to avoid any water anyways. Besides her fight with Dythe, she hadn't been splashed with water in years, not that people haven't tried it.

"It's still my fault that it was broken, so I went out about bought you this." Tsukune held out a small box. "Happy birthday Akuha."

Akuha accepted the box and wondered what it could be. She had never celebrated her birthday in 7 years and was never very materialistic anyways. She opened it and pulled out the onyx necklace.

"You like it?" Tsukune asked.

Akuha felt astounded as she marveled at the onyx tear. It sparkled as she dangled it in front of her. "It's beautiful," she said as her face turned red, "Thank you, Tsukune."

Tsukune smiled back. To him, it wasn't anything romantic at all. He merely wanted to show gratitude to a friend. Akuha saved his life, she was having a birthday now, and her old necklace was broken.

Akuha on the other hand felt warm inside when putting on the necklace. "He is _wonderfully_ good natured." She thought silently. She was beginning to really care about Tsukune… only after three long days.

Kasumi suddenly called for Tsukune from the kitchen, so he ran off to see what she needed.

Akuha just continued watching television. She couldn't do much else as it still hurt a little to stand. A short time passed before something finally clicked in her head. She remembered the whole reason why she was here in the first place, investigate and then kill Tsukune. She suddenly felt a bit depressed and confused.

She once spared her target to avoid upsetting Moka, and now she was beginning to care about someone she was supposed to kill. "I must be the worst assassin ever…" she said quietly.

XXX

To be continued in next chapter.

* * *

**I can't have a fight **_**every**_** chapter, but there are still 2 things that will be kept constant: a flashback and the theme for the chapter titles. Both of those change actually change when… well I'd be spoiling it, so I'll just say: "when a large shift in the plot occurs."**

**I've noticed that the site has been glitchy recently. Some chapters have been disappearing and reappearing.**

**Grammar errors corrected by: Cooking Samurai, Drac-frst**


	7. Chpt 7: Bounty

**Tsukune's House**

Akuha had trouble admitting it to herself, but she was very much enjoying her stay with Tsukune. Tsukune was kind and patient with her, she had her first challenging fight in a long time, and the onyx necklace she now wore gave her a warm feeling. Not just Tsukune, but his mother acted quite pleasant as well. She was always asking her if she needed something. At least it was obvious where Tsukune's kindhearted nature came from.

Another day passed by. It was now day five of staying in this town, Thursday. Tsukune felt like taking a long walk to kill some boredom.

"Mind if I come with you Tsuk?" Akuha asked, "I'm almost in top shape again." It wasn't a lie, she was probably in good-enough shape to tangle with Dythe again if he were still around.

"Sure, why not?" Tsukune said, "You probably need some fresh air anyways after being in here for so long."

The two left the house and went walking around town, talking to each other as they wandered, the same way they did when they first met. Tsukune talked about few funny times during his childhood, such as the time when Kyouko dared him to bungee jump with a _normal_ rope.

"Wow Tsuk, that's just silly." Akuha said.

"Yeah," Tsukune laughed to himself, "I couldn't walk for several days after that…"

Akuha went on to do some of the talking as well. Mentioning more about the places she's been to. Most notable was a Chinese forest she once took a hike in. She talked about one of the elegant looking waterfalls she saw there, "It wasn't exactly big, but the mist at the bottom made a very visible rainbow."

"Ah, what else did you see during your hike?"

Akuha paused to think for a moment, she had been there because of a bounty she took, not to go sight seeing. Her target had evaded her and so she didn't kill anyone on that trip, but still. "There was a small village of people halfway up a tall mountain. I just passed through and said hello though." Thankfully that was the truth this time.

"How long did you go hiking there?"

"Well, just two days." Akuha felt a fond memory return to her, "I wish you could've seen the nighttime sky there at that time… where no city lights were nearby and when not a single cloud was in sight."

"Well I've seen the stars out in the country a few times before."

"So have I at that time, but this night was different." The two of them sat down on a bench underneath a tree, getting some shade before they would move on, "The night was both dark and shimmering at the same time," she looked down at her onyx necklace with a smile, it was black while it still sparkled, "millions of stars, just like there were millions of sparkles on the mountain lake in front of me. The crescent moon glowed very brightly as well. It looked like a beautiful sky on top of an even more beautiful river of gems."

"I could only imagine what that would have looked like," Tsukune had to admit he felt fascinated by her description of the night. Despite her being a vampire and had obviously killed others before, being around Akuha felt like being around a normal girl, just like Inner Moka. Getting past her cold side, Inner Moka was bad at cooking, adored stuffed animals, and loved shopping for cloths. Akuha laughed at jokes, was often energetic, and was moved by gorgeous displays made by Mother Nature.

Akuha blinked, "Oh, sorry Tsuk. Thinking about that night again just makes me dose off."

"It's alright. By the way, I've noticed that you've been calling me 'Tsuk' a lot lately."

"Oh… I didn't really notice. I guess I'm just getting used to talking with you."

The two of them continued their walk around town as well as their conversation, occasionally stopping to go into a building like an arcade or a store. When Tsukune's watch hit 6:00pm, they said goodbye to each other. Akuha was in good shape again, and so she decided to return her apartment instead. They agreed to meet in the park tomorrow morning.

XXX

**Same Time – Another part of town**

The sun was starting to set now. Griggs and Sheckley stood around near the entrance to the town's park. Lots of people were passing around them everywhere, holding suitcases, cell phones, and newspapers.

"Look at these humans," Sheckley began to say as he lit a cigarette, "always going through the everyday motions of life like robots-"

"I'm a highly visible ninja!" Griggs shouted, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Yeah, that's real hilarious Griggs." Sheckley dully said. "Anyways, these humans are like drones, as much alive as a zomb-"

"Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" Griggs interrupted.

"Knock it off, there's a lot of people around us you know." Sheckley sighed and let out a puff of smoke, "I wonder, what about this girl could be so important that we would have to wait a week to-" Sheckley stopped when he noticed Griggs was flexing his muscles while shrieking louder and louder, "Uh… what are you doing?"

"I have become a mighty SUPER SAIYAN!"

Sheckley rolled his eyes, "Come on Griggs grow up, I think you've been watching to much anime… or something like that." Griggs always got excessively involved with shows he liked.

"I'm gonna be king of the pirates!"

Sheckley noticed that every human within a 20-foot radius all stopped and looked at Griggs. "The boss said _not_ to attract attention! Think before you open your mouth!"

Griggs walked off and stood in front of a lady sitting on a bench. Griggs made the shape of a pistol with his fingers and pointed it at her, "Spirit Gun!" he screamed as loud as he could. The lady then got up and ran away in panic.

"Jeezz Griggs, do you have to do this after _every time_ you watch a fighter anime? You should consider watching something more intelligent like Death Note or Code Geass."

Griggs walked back to Sheckley, staring at him with an unusually cold look. What anime was he trying to mimic this time?

"What the hell are you trying to do, Griggs? Last time you-"

"Know your place!" Griggs suddenly shouted as he kicked Sheckley in the crotch.

Sheckley bent over, nearly falling on his face. "Why you son of a-" he shouted in anger as he punched Griggs right in the nose. Griggs was sent falling over on the sidewalk, moaning in pain. "Yeah, that hurt a lot didn't it, Griggs!" Sheckley then looked up and realized that large crowds of people were all staring at them. "Uh… woops. Griggs we better get out of here."

Griggs continued moaning in pain on the ground.

XXX

Akuha was on her way back to her apartment, remembering the bottle of blood she left there. She was getting thirsty for blood again. Sure she drank some of Tsukune's delicious blood, but she only took one bite to avoid pushing his trust. Still, tasting his blood made her feel attracted to him all the time.

The sun finally fell and it became dark.

Akuha looked down at the necklace Tsukune gave her. She was similar to the night sky as well as the onyx on the necklace. Dark but still glimmering, mysterious but beautiful. Akuha knew there was always a prettier girl out there, but she stood out for them, just like the onyx necklace.

Akuha felt a blush as she continued walking. She was really looking forward to seeing Tsukune again tomorrow.

"That's a nice birthday present, vampire." A deep voice said behind her.

Akuha turned around to see a hooded man with a red blindfold over his eyes. In the past, no one was ever able to sneak up to Akuha. It was impossible to pull off as her hearing and perception were so good, but she didn't even feel this man coming, "Who are you?" she took a combat stance, "How do you know what I am?"

"We're a lot alike you and I." The seemingly blind man said.

"You don't know anything about me."

"On the contrary Akuha Shuzen, I know everything about you."

Akuha felt a bit intimidated. Who was this guy?

"You've done nothing but kill and lie your whole life. But even someone as corrupt as you is still capable of caring for another."

Caring for another? "If you dare lay a hand on Tsukune, I'll kill you!" Akuha snapped. She didn't mean to say that, she just felt it slip out.

"Oh don't worry about him." He turned and began to walk towards a nearby museum. The doors should have been locked, but they opened on their own by an unseen force. "Come if you wish to settle this quickly." He said as he walked into the empty darkness of the building.

Akuha slowly walked after him, cautiously. She knew it had to be some kind of trap, but she followed anyways. It wasn't due to confidence in her own abilities, but because it would be dangerous to allow this mystery man to roam around town unchecked. He knew who she was, somehow.

XXX

**Tsukune's House**

Tsukune had the door to his house halfway opened when he heard someone rapidly approaching from behind him.

"Tsukune!" A soft female voice shouted.

Tsukune turned around looked in disbelief, "Moka?"

A long pink haired Moka ran up to Tsukune and hugged him tightly. "It's been such a long time!" she warmly said. Tsukune noticed that she was wearing ordinary casual ware in place of the school uniform that she usually wore.

Tsukune was very happy to see her, but he still wondered, "What are you doing here Moka?"

"I felt so uneasy after you returned to the human world," Moka said, "I kept feeling like I'd never see you again."

"Now why would you think that? I told you that we would see each other again after the summer."

Moka blushed and looked a bit shy, "I guess I just couldn't wait."

Kasumi walked over to the doorway, "Tsukune, why are you-" she was cut off at the sight of Moka. "Huh? Who is this beautiful lady?" she said stunned.

Tsukune looked over at his mother, "Her name is Moka." he said, "She's one of the friends I made back at school."

XXX

**Town Museum**

As Akuha walked up the steps to the museum, she noticed a demonic aura beginning to radiate from the hooded man. It felt similar to the aura of a vampire, and yet the direct opposite. The warm feeling Tsukune gave her earlier completely vanished. She began to sweat as she felt the demonic aura grow. The energy was like a bottomless black hole, rather than being large or powerful. It was like nothing she's ever encountered before.

Akuha walked in and everything seemed to fade away. She turned around and saw that the doorway she came in through wasn't there anymore. Just empty blackness in all directions, with her in the middle of it.

The hooded man began to fade in, standing a few feet in front of Akuha.

"What do you want from me?" Akuha shouted. Something suddenly clicked in her head. A hooded, expressionless man that was one with the dark, he was very renown in the monster criminal underground. "Nightcry." Akuha said quietly. That wasn't his real name of course. Nightcry was a title, just like Akuha was known as 'The Black Devil'.

"So you've heard of me then?" Nightcry said shrugging, "I'm not surprised."

Despite 'Nightcry' sounding like something out of a comic book, Akuha knew he was even _more_ infamous than even she or anyone else in Fairy Tale. She didn't know what Nightcry was or how his powers worked, but it was obvious that she needed to end this quickly. "Hogetsu Jigen-Tou!" she shouted right away.

Nightcry disappeared into the darkness before it hit him. Empty darkness was all that remained again. Strange looking, featureless bodies appeared around Akuha, all with their limbs twisted in painful positions. They all looked at her with cold, dead eyes.

"This doesn't scare me!" Akuha yelled loudly. She was lying, the dark energy she felt around her felt like an abyss of nightmares. It was hard enough fighting the urge to throw up.

To Akuha's surprise, light suddenly flooded her vision, revealing a different room from the one she remembered walking into. Her eyes took a moment to adjust, and realized where she suddenly was. "The Shuzen Household?" she shouted. It looked exactly like the interior of the very mansion she once lived in. This couldn't be possible. Vampires are immune to any kind of illusion or hypnosis, but if that was the case, how was she seeing this?

Akuha turned around and saw Moka and Akasha, standing right next to each other, looking out the window. They didn't seem to notice Akuha, but they looked happy as they spoke to each other.

"Moka…" Akuha said silently, but then forced herself to look away, "No, this isn't real."

Both Moka and Akasha suddenly turned around, frightened by something coming behind them. Akuha looked at what it was… it was a phantom of herself. It looked exactly like her, but at the same time completely different from her. She had a heartless look on her face, a terrifying stare. It sent a chill down Akuha's spine.

"Hogetsu Jigen-Tou!" The phantom shouted, attempting to cut Akasha in half… _exactly_ as Akuha once planned to.

"No!" Akuha ran in the way as fast as she could, blocking the attack with her own Hogetsu Jigen-Tou. The blow connected, it felt just as real as her own Moon Crushing Dimensional Sword. The phantom then side-kicked Akuha away, sending her flying.

Akuha landed and coughed out a bit of blood. She knew this phantom of herself couldn't be real, but the threat of it certainly was. She jolted back up as she saw a berserk version of herself charge at her like an animal. The identical girl furiously thrashed her, it was just as strong and fast as she was. Akuha attempted to block an attack, but the phantom tricked her, performing the 'Twist Step Plucking Hand Strike' on her. Akuha felt herself fall on the ground again. While she could certainly feel the attacks of the phantom, she couldn't analyze it let alone predict and counter it. It was like fighting a distorted physical shadow, looking at it just felt disorienting and confusing.

The phantom charged at Akuha again as she stood up. Relying on her senses of sight and hearing was going to get her killed. Instead, she closed her eyes, attempting to feel out the phantom's energy. She certainly did feel something, as she sensed a concentration of demonic energy rapidly approaching her.

Akuha punched the cloud of energy as hard as she could, and then opened her eyes. The phantom faded away.

"You've got a sharp mind, Black Devil." Nightcry said, "Oh how I wish we could have met under different circumstances."

"What do you want from me?" Akuha shouted.

"Your life, it's as simple as that."

Akuha slowly took a step back and felt her foot hit something. She turned around and saw Akasha, dead and cut in half below her. Akuha's eyes widened at the bloody sight.

"Nee-sama!" Akuha heard behind her, it looked like a nine-year-old Moka. "Why? Why did you kill mother!" It looked like Moka, but it had no face, just blank skin where it's face should have been. The little terror shot at Akuha too fast for her to even see, kicking her right in the side of the face.

Akuha slammed into the wall and fell on the ground, "They're not real, they're not real, they're not real…" she kept telling herself as she struggled to get up.

"I'll show you just how real they can be." Nightcry's bodiless voice echoed.

Akuha tried to close her eyes and feel out any demonic energy clouds, but this time she felt it _everywhere_. She opened her eyes again and saw faceless horrors of Kokoa and Kahlua as well. Terrifying undead versions of Akuha's three sisters all ran forward to attack her. She wasn't going to win like this, and so she ran away as fast as she could.

The hallway she ran through seemed to be endless. Running in any direction wasn't going to accomplish anything, the illusion just stretched on forever.

The deformed copy of Kahlua suddenly broke through the wall and tackled Akuha to the ground. Akuha then felt a massive blow from behind by the false Kokoa, whom was using the large mace form of her pet bat. Akuha slid on the floor before slamming into another wall.

Akuha got up again. She had to think of something else. She focused on the energy she felt around her again, trying to scan it and figure out how it worked. Perhaps she could find a weakness or way to escape.

XXX

**7 Years Ago – The Shuzen Household**

A few weeks before Moka's tenth birthday was celebrated, Moka asked Akuha to tell her more of what she know about fighting. Moka seemed to be very interested in the earlier subject of fighting dirty, and ever since, they talked about combat a number of times per week.

"Moka, we've talked about this so many times now," Akuha said, tired of the subject, "what more can I say?"

"How about your fighting style or one of your techniques?" Moka asked.

"Those aren't things you can just pick up."

"What way did you learn it then?"

"Well," Akuha sighed, Moka obviously wasn't going to let this go, "before I was taught any techniques or anything, they had me master my perception first."

"Instead of just telling me about it again, how about you teach me it?"

"Wh…what? Teach you?"

"Yeah, pass on what you've learned. You even said you were bored earlier."

For some reason, Akuha just felt lazy that day. She had just finished her training in the martial arts a short time before she met Moka, and still there was much she had to learn. She had never been much of an instructor, but for Moka's sake, she accepted anyways.

XXX

Time passed as Moka trained under her older sister. Moka was wearing a special bracelet that Akuha had for training purposes. It caused Moka to be unable to see or hear anything. Instead, she would have to use other senses to detect movement.

Akuha made rather weak strikes at Moka, trying to get her to block them. Out of ten attacks, Moka was only able to block a single one.

"No one can fight like this!" Moka shouted, taking the bracelet off, "I can understand taking sight away, but hearing as well?"

"A vampire's sight and hearing is already exceptional, and doesn't need any training to use effectively." Akuha looked onto the hill they stood on, "You must feel the environment using your sense of touch through the ground below you."

"I understand that, but there's only so much the ground tells me. I only know where you are, not when you're about to attack."

"There are still other ways to read your opponent, and you can use them in combination. We vampires, like many other Yōkai Species, can sense each other's energy." Akuha closed her eyes, and felt Moka's energy out in front of her, "You need to concentrate; see with your body not your eyes."

Moka closed her eyes and tried it. It took a moment, but she could feel Akuha's energy in front of her after focusing hard enough.

"Learning how to do this while under the stress of battle will get you ahead."

Moka had to admit it was neat, but still wondered about the necessity of it. "I don't mean to argue, but why focus so much effort in learning this? Seeing and hearing your opponent is much easier, and in the end you get the same result, you know where your opponent is."

"Indeed, you would use your sight and hearing first in a real fight. So how could this be useful to you?"

Moka thought for a moment, even though she was nine years old, she was still pretty smart, "The likelihood that your opponent can use some kind of trick to deceive you."

"Correct. You must master _all_ the senses, to fight on _any_ level."

Moka nodded, "I see. Read your opponent in every possible way at once."

Akuha looked down at the bracelet Moka was holding, "When I was being taught this, I was just as frustrated as you are now. However, after I mastered it and removed the bracelet, my ability to analyze and keep track of my opponent became exponentially better. Being able to see, hear, feel, and sense my enemy all at once. Sure we're immune to illusions, but still you must never place too much trust in just your eyes."

Moka put the bracelet back on. Unlike fighting dirty, fighting more skillfully like this seemed fascinating to her. "I'm ready Nee-sama, lets resume the lesson."

XXX

**Town Museum**

Akuha concentrated on feeling out the demonic energy. There was a lot of it, but that was nothing new. She focused harder… She could tell it was moving around, even in motionless objects like floors or walls. The demonic energy was like a blood stream flowing through the illusion. She focused even harder… The energy was all coming from one spot, it must have been Nightcry, and she also felt a different energy flowing into him. He seemed to be drawing energy from something and then redirecting it to create this fake interior.

She finally figured it out, this wasn't an illusion, but it still wasn't real. Nightcry drew demonic energy from the dark, and converted the energy into solid forms that he could control and animate. It was similar, yet on a completely different level, to how a vampire would convert their demonic energy into raw strength.

Akuha had never left the room, she was still standing on the same spot as when she entered the museum. The closed space around her simply messed with her point of reference, making it look as if she was moving from place to place when she wasn't. The phantoms that attacked her were lifeless bunches of animated energy. She couldn't imagine how sophisticated Nightcry's power must be to pull off something as convincing as this, but she had an idea of how to fight back now.

Akuha conjured her most reckless, most destructive attack, "Hyakujin Ryouran!" (Profusion of a hundred blades). The attack was a variant of the Hogetsu Jigen-Tou, being completely widespread like some kind of explosion. It was inaccurate and never used in one-on-one combat.

_(The Hyakujin Ryouran technique is used in the manga during Akuha's fight with Akasha)_

Even though she couldn't see it, Akuha heard the sound of the museum around her being torn apart. She felt the entire building being leveled and no longer standing. As there was no roof above her anymore, the moonlight started punching holes through the fake mansion interior. It began to break apart like glass.

"Well played." Nightcry said.

Akuha didn't bother saying anything back. Making him pay for what he did to her was all that was on her mind.

While Nightcry's powers weren't as strong when under the moonlight, it was still dark enough. Four large black, spiked tentacles shot out of his back and all lunged at Akuha at once, trying to impale her.

Akuha sidestepped out of the way charged for a Jigen-Tou attack. Nightcry dodged her attack as well, with agility strikingly similar to a vampire's. He whacked her aside with one of his tentacles, not very hard. He had hit her to push her away, rather than hurt her.

Reflecting on the entire fight so far, Nightcry felt rather impressed by Akuha. She was disciplined and fast at thinking. "I shouldn't have held back. She may even last against me in my transformed state." He whispered. With the moon shining so bright and the danger of the Jigen-Tou attack, he decided to fight her some other time under different conditions.

Akuha back-flipped and landed on her feet. When she looked back up at where Nightcry was, he was gone. He had disappeared into the night, "Coward!" Akuha shouted.

Nightcry was still in the town, his goal still unknown.

XXX

**Tsukune's House**

Kasumi had a hard time taking this in. In the past, Tsukune has never been very good at getting girls to like him. But after seeing two gorgeous girls like Akuha and Moka, she was beginning to wonder how much high school had changed him. "What about those other friends Tsukune said he made at school?" she thought, "He said they were girls too." she began to feel like her son was a stranger to her.

Meanwhile, Tsukune showed Moka around the house, eventually leading her to his room.

"Ah, so this is your room?" Moka said as she looked around excited.

Tsukune couldn't believe it… Moka was inside his intimately familiar bedroom. As she looked around, Tsukune felt his stare fall onto her backside, "So big…" he accidentally said.

"Huh? I'm sorry, what did you say?" Moka asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing! Nothing at all." Good thing she didn't hear exactly what he said.

Moka sat down on Tsukune's bed, but something felt odd about it. "Uh, Tsukune? Why is there a huge bump on your bed?"

"Bump there shouldn't be a-" He was cut off when he realized that there was someone else underneath the covers.

A loud yawn was suddenly heard as the sheets were lifted up, revealing it was Kurumu. "I wanted to surprise you Tsukune, so I climbed through the window. I fell asleep when I hid though." She immediately hugged him with her usual… smothering.

Moka tapped Kurumu on the back. Kurumu turned around to see who it was, "Moka?"

They were interrupted as they heard the closet behind them open. "Oh no, I hid too long." Mizore said as she came out, "You're back Tsukune, sorry to intrude." She froze in surprise at the sight of both Moka and Kurumu.

"Hey Tsukune!" Yukari shouted from the window, "Huh?" she made a confused look at the sight of the other girls, "Why is everyone else here?"

Moka, Kurumu, Yukari, and Mizore had all come to visit Tsukune at once…

XXX

To be continued in next chapter

* * *

**Behind the scenes – Dark metal room**

_(Just for fun… instead of leaving author notes in every single chapter)_

A large armchair sat facing away. It slowly turned around to reveal a sinister looking, armored Helghast soldier sitting in it (my avatar on this site). White text on his chest plate read 'Jabber Mouth', besides that, the armor looked almost terrifying. It had a dark metal texture, glowing orange eyes, and breather mask. "Hello there folks!" he said optimistically, "I'm MrDrProfessor4, the writer of this story." He poked at his helmet, "Sorry about the armor, but I'd rather keep my identity anonymous on the Internet."

"Huh? Only a retard tries to 'hide his face' on something that only uses text? Very well, how about this: I think that Helghast a soldier looks cool, and so I use it as an Internet avatar. Not because they're Nazi-inspired, but ONLY because they look cool… that's all… I swear! One of my friends in school is Jewish!"

"Anyways, getting to the point: I thank you all for the positive reviews you've been leaving. I wasn't sure about continuing after chapter 4 at first, but I feel convinced otherwise to keep going now. I'll keep writing as long as someone is reading. I've actually already got everything planned out word-for-word until chapter 11, and the basic skeleton of the plot after that. A very special thanks goes out to Cooking Samurai as well, for helping to create Nightcry. We both had our own ideas for him, which we put together to make the final product. He's mysterious at this point in the story, but we get to know him better later on. He has personality unlike Dythe."

"Man, I talk to much..."


	8. Chpt 8: Rendezvous

**Museum Wreckage Pile**

What was once the town museum was now a heap of ruins and debris. Akuha ran off before anyone could see her and start asking questions. She decided to go back to her hotel room and grab some of the blood she had stored away to heal up faster, it sounded like a good move.

Akuha leaped onto a nearby rooftop and thought for a moment. "I don't have any leads for what Nightcry is after." She knew that she was only an obstacle to Nightcry, and not his primary objective. It seemed like Nightcry just wanted her out of the way.

Akuha soared through the air again and landed onto the large rooftop of the town mall. This time she sat down for a moment and tried to think of possibilities, who or what was Nightcry after? If this had to do with a supernatural presence in town that she wasn't aware of, attacking her wouldn't make any sense. Nightcry wouldn't tangle with a powerful vampire unnecessarily. It had to be something Akuha had or someone she knew. Tsukune, it had to be him, he was the only other unordinary person she knew in this town. It was the only possibility left that still made sense.

"Fairy Tale is so interested in him, so I know there's something he's keeping to himself." Akuha whispered, "I wonder if this 'secret' he's hiding is related to what Nightcry is after." That theory made sense, attacking her to leave the town uncontested. "Nightcry attacking me was either a misunderstanding, or he's after Tsukune, and I'm betting it's the latter."

Akuha went back to hopping along the rooftops. She figured she would make good time getting back to her hotel room this way. She had to move quickly, she was very worried that Tsukune could be in danger.

Akuha nearly lost her balance on the rooftops when she finally realized how much she was thinking about Tsukune. Earlier she felt excited to see him in the morning, now she felt concerned for his safety. Why? All her life, she had never cared for anyone else but her sisters, but they were family, so that was understandable. Why then did she feel anything for Tsukune? He's just a stranger. He's just a naive boy. He's just a _human_. "I can't make any assumptions on what Nightcry's goal is just yet. I haven't even figured out what Tsukune's little secret is."

Despite Akuha's last thought, she decided she would go back and check on Tsukune after getting some blood at her hotel first.

XXX

**Tsukune's House**

Kasumi walked upstairs to Tsukune's room with a tray of two cups of tea in her hands. "Ok, stay calm Kasumi, just stay calm," she told herself, "Tsukune has brought yet another girl home, but at least she seems quite nice like the first girl." She opened the door, releasing the sounds of shouting in his room.

Besides Moka, three other girls were all pulling on Tsukune, yelling at each other. Kasumi couldn't understand what any of them were saying as they were all yelling over each other, causing quite a commotion. 'Mine,' was the only word she could make out.

Tsukune and all the girls quickly noticed Kasumi, causing them to freeze in silence.

"There's more? Why are there more!" Kasumi asked in panic.

"Ah, Mother?" Tsukune said nervously, "I can explain!" he moved away from the girls and lead Kasumi back out into the hallways, closing the door behind them.

The four girls waited inside Tsukune's room, they could overhear Tsukune talking to his mother in the hallways.

"Who are they? What were they just doing to you?" Kasumi said panicking like the house was on fire.

"Calm down mother." Tsukune said, "They're friends from school. Just ordinary students."

"Ordinary students?" Moka thought, "Tsukune's mom must not know about us then." Moka felt guilty for coming to Tsukune's house. He has already gone through enough trouble trying to keep his secret during the school year.

"What's been going on at that high school of yours?" Kasumi asked Tsukune from in the hallway, "You need sex education!"

XXX

A _really_ short time passed before Kurumu and Mizore got into another fight. It happened quite regularly back at Yōkai Academy. Kurumu had always been the clingiest of group, always butting heads with any girl who tried to get close to Tsukune. As Moka was the most casual around Tsukune, and Yukari would often stay out of the way, Mizore was usually the one Kurumu fought with.

Tsukune watched nervously as Kurumu and Mizore argued at each other endlessly. He could hardly remember what it started as.

"You're really beginning to piss me off." Kurumu shouted, "Always getting in my way, always screwing up my plans."

"_You__bet_ I'm screwing up your plans." Mizore said standing her ground.

"That's the last straw, let's duel outside," Kurumu made a motion towards the door, "we settle this today."

"Fine with me, I'm not about to lose to a boob freak like you."

Kurumu and Mizore fast walked out of the room. Tsukune, Moka, and Yukari were left just standing there.

"Tsukune, you've got to stop them!" Moka said.

"Huh?" Tsukune attention shifted to Moka, "What am I supposed to do? They fight like this all the time at school anyways. They'll just forget it ever happened like the last five times."

"I'm not saying they won't forgive each other," Moka looked a lot more valiant than she usually was, "but we're not at school, we're in the human world. What if somebody sees Kurumu and Mizore fighting?"

The realization finally hit Tsukune. Kurumu and Mizore always made a lot of destruction whenever they fought. The commotion they would stir up would be pretty hard to miss. Tsukune quickly ran after them, Moka and Yukari followed. "We've got to stop them!"

XXX

**Akuha's Hotel Room**

Despite being away for a few days, Akuha's room seemed to be exactly as she left it. The door still had a dagger mark, and all the stuff she brought with her was still where she put it.

She couldn't stop herself from thinking about some of her past jobs, comparing them to the massive contrast that is her current assignment. Sure, she had been good to her sisters, and she was getting along with Tsukune just fine, but besides just these two short times, the rest of her entire life was plagued with so many horrible acts. She had killed so many people, not just gangs, politicians, and other fighters, but she had also killed families and innocents as well. A good number of killings were even done out of anger.

Akuha tried to dismiss her previous thoughts. "No use worrying about the past." She whispered to herself. She realized how hypocritical that statement was, she thought of her stay at the Shuzen household all the time. In order to stay sane with the ludicrous amount of killing, she always tried to forget about her bad memories and think about the good ones.

She brought out the bottle of blood and drank from it, leaving it only a quarter full. She couldn't afford to wait a few days to heal again, Nightcry was still out there, and she had to find out what he was up to without delay.

Akuha noticed she was still wearing the light blue tank top and white jeans she was given. A change of cloths would be appropriate. While the tank top was easy to move in, the jeans she was wearing would rip if she made any flexible movements with her legs.

She brought out the black outfit she usually fought in, it was a good thing she had a spare. The outfit was made of a very strong fabric, not that it would protect against attacks of Dythe's strength, but it was also very light and easy to move around in. She shut the window blinds and changed outfits. As she changed, her hands stopped over the onyx necklace she was still wearing. She didn't know why, but for some reason it felt special to her, she just couldn't bring herself to take it off.

Eventually, Akuha changed into her usual black attire, still wearing the onyx necklace. Her blue contact lenses were removed, revealing her red vampire eyes. She opened the door and quickly left the hotel room yet again. She had long since gotten used to this due to her past jobs, no taking breaks until it was finished. The short time she had spent in her room lasted no more than 10 minutes.

Akuha leaped high into the air, landing on a building. She began jumping from rooftop to rooftop again, a way to move quickly without drawing attention from the people below.

XXX

**The Town Park**

Kurumu and Mizore finally stopped in the middle of the large park, turning to face each other.

"This place will do." Kurumu said as she extended her fingernails.

"Fine with me." Mizore said blankly, "If I win, you'll have to disappear from Tsukune's sight forever."

Tsukune, Moka, and Yukari entered the park after them. "Stop it! Both of you!" Tsukune shouted at them.

"It doesn't look like they heard you." Yukari said.

Mizore's right arm turned into a claw made of ice. As she was about to lunge forward at Kurumu, she suddenly felt someone grab her from behind, wrapping his large arms around her.

"I got her!" Griggs shouted. It looked like he was enjoying keeping Mizore retrained.

"You idiot," Sheckley said behind him, "how do you know she's the right one?"

"Oh great," Kurumu thought, "humans getting in the way."

Mizore struggled in Griggs' grasp, any normal human would not have been able to hold her, but this man seemed to be doing just fine. He couldn't be human, "Who are you?" she asked both quietly hostilely. Griggs didn't answer, instead he just let her go, letting her move back to her succubus friend.

"That girl felt chilly," Griggs said, "I think she's a Yuki-Onna."

Tsukune's eyes lit up as he looked with suspicion at the strangers. They were talking about a species of Yōkai quite casually, probably meaning that they were Yōkai themselves.

Sheckley looked at Kurumu, "That one is a Succubus, I've seen those long nails on a different one before."

"The boss said to grab the girl hanging out with Tsukune," Griggs said, "but which one?" He looked at each of the four girls, "He said she was pretty, but all four of these girls look appealing." He looked at Mizore, "I think that one is the cutest. Would be nicer if her hair was a bit longer though."

Sheckley, "Oh she's sexy, but I think I like the pink haired one more."

"Hey!" Kurumu shouted interrupting them, "Who are you two, and what do you want with us?"

"I'm Sheckley, and this here is my idiot partner Griggs." Sheckley smiled, "We have come for the girl," he said, trying to imitate a Martian, "the problem is… we don't know which girl."

"So," Griggs began, "do we kidnap _all_ of them?"

"No, the boss also said that she is the strongest of them."

"Oh I get it," Griggs walked forward leaving Sheckley behind him, "so I'll just figure out which one that is."

Kurumu and Mizore immediately forgot about the feud they were just having, and instead focused on the new threat before them. They both faced Griggs, putting the backs to each other's.

"Two on two?" Kurumu asked.

"Na, Sheck is going to sit this one out." Griggs flexed his huge muscles, still retaining his human appearance, "Trust me, you're gonna need a whole lot more than just a Yuki-Onna and a Succubus. How about all five of you come at me at once?"

Kurumu and Mizore both lunged forward. Despite fighting each other often, they could fight as allies with great coordination after training with Ginei for so long.

Griggs stretched both his fists out, punching both girls in the face in the middle of their attacks. Griggs then tried to sock Kurumu again, who dodged one blow only to be hit by the next. Mizore slashed her ice claws at Griggs, they hit, but shattered upon impact. Griggs then delivered an uppercut to Mizore's stomach, knocking her down. "Pushovers, the boss obviously isn't interested in either of you." He looked over at Mizore disappointed.

Tsukune looked baffled at the sight of his two injured friends. Thankfully they both stood back up, but we're too hurt to keep fighting. While not in Moka's league, Kurumu and Mizore proved themselves to be pretty powerful back in school, seeing them beaten this quickly sent a chill down his spine.

Griggs looked over at Moka "Okay Miss 'Sheck's Fav', your turn!" He ran at her ready to make another large punch.

"Moka, look out!" Tsukune shoved Moka out of the way just in time and fell over on the ground. The punch Griggs made barley missed him, just going right over his head. He then opened his eyes, and saw the Rosario in his hand. He seemed to have pulled it off when he tried to push Moka aside. It didn't really feel surprising to Tsukune anymore, he always had the dumbest luck of accidentally removing Moka's Rosario, always at the most convenient times. He wasn't about to question it though.

An explosion of demonic aura echoed around Moka. Her long pink hair turned white and her emerald eyes turned red. Her pupils also changed to look similar to that of a snake's.

"Oh goodie, a vampire." Griggs said sarcastically, "You're _definitely_ the one the boss wants."

"I do what I want, I go where I want_… _and I'm certainly NOT going anywhere with you!" Moka spat. Her vampire personality had always been the opposite of her sealed personality. She was much colder, impulsive, and ill tempered like this.

Moka shot at Griggs like a lightning bolt, kicking him so hard that a shockwave blasted out in all directions. While Griggs was knocked off his feet, Moka then grabbed his by the ankle and swung him around. She released him into the air, throwing him, and shot up into the air after him.

"Know your place!" Moka yelled as she kicked him straight down into the ground from midair. Griggs landed right into the concrete, creating very a sizable crater.

Tsukune made a sigh of relief, "That was hardly even a fight." In the past, Moka always beat her enemies in seconds, provided they didn't have purified water with them. Almost all the time, seeing Moka's vampire side eased tension, as the fight would never last much longer.

"Now it's your turn." Moka said to Sheckley.

"Don't think that it's over yet." Sheckley said very calmly.

From the cloud of dust Griggs was in, the sound of clapping could be heard, "Alright! Good warm up." He cheerfully said.

"Impossible, after that he's laughing?" Yukari said.

Even Moka looked surprised, turning to look back at the cloud of dust as it faded away.

The dust cloud finally dissipated, revealing Griggs' transformed state. He looked like some kind of golden glowing Minotaur. "Oh yeah, s*** just got real!" He said, clinging his fists.

**Bite-****Sized ****Monster ****Dictionary**: Ramusan, the most powerful Minotaur variant, and yet the most scarce kind. Instead of being born in Greece, Ramusan were Egyptian born, descending directly from the forgotten Egyptian bull-deity Apis. While they don't have divine powers, they have incredible strength.

_(The Egyptians really did have a bull deity called Apis. The name Ramusan is a reference to my history teacher's name… really)_

Moka had never seen whatever kind of monster Griggs was before, and he didn't look weak, "Maybe this wont be as easy as I thought it would be," she said, "but I'll still beat you all the same."

"Hah, arrogant little vampire." Griggs laughed.

"You're one to talk Griggs." Sheckley said behind him, "You're a bit conceited yourself."

"What are you talking about?" Griggs shouted back.

"You remember when I caught you confessing your love to a mirror?"

"For the last time! That wasn't what it looked like!"

Moka took a combat stance and braced herself for anything, Griggs was an idiot, but he was a powerful idiot.

"I'm gonna give you a toothache you'll never forget." Griggs said back to Moka.

Griggs rammed at Moka with his head, striking her so hard that she was sent flying straight backwards.

"No, Moka!" Tsukune shouted.

_(Or the annoying "Moka-san!")_

Moka snapped herself out of the shock from the blow and back-flipped, rebounding off a table sized boulder and lunging back at Griggs. The two quickly exchanged blows incredibly fast, until Griggs hit her with his fist like a hammer. Moka fell face first into the ground. Griggs attempted to stomp on her head, but Moka quickly pushed on the ground, propelling herself straight up into the air.

As Moka flew up into the air, she lost sight of Griggs. Strange, a gold glowing Minotaur would usually be the first thing you would see. A pair of hands suddenly covered her face from behind.

"Peek-a-boo!" Griggs shouted as he grabbed her.

"That guy is wicked fast!" Yukari said down below awestruck.

Tsukune watched in horror as Griggs air-dived Moka right into the ground, making an even bigger crater than the last one that was made.

Moka lay there on the ground, badly hurt. After the beating she just went through, she knew she had to try something else. Fighting dirty, she had never resorted to that before, but only because she never needed to. She decided to try playing dead.

Griggs looked down at Moka who lay motionless, "Hah, that was it? I'll bet that vampire from Sesame Street could've put up a better fight than that!" He grabbed Moka by the upper right leg and held her upside-down. Moka suddenly woke up and made a surprise kick, hitting Griggs hard right in the face. "Ouch!" Griggs fell back and dropped her.

Moka struggled to get back up, the sucker kick she delivered only served to piss Griggs off, and all it did was give him a bloody nose… or snout.

Tsukune couldn't take any more of this, he was about to run forward before Kurumu stopped him, "Wait," she said, "he's going to kill you if you get too close."

"But we have to do something!" Tsukune said back. He was considering using his ghoul powers, but even that probably wouldn't do much. Dythe was alone and had a noticeable Achilles' heel to take advantage of. Griggs instead had no known weaknesses and had his partner to help him.

Griggs punched Moka inconceivably hard, not seeming like he wanted to toy with her anymore. Moka went down, unconscious for real this time.

"The boss said not to kill her, retard!" Sheckley shouted as he walked over.

"Oh, sorry." Griggs said, "I just got carried away."

Sheckley gentle picked Moka up and carried her, "Alright, back to the hideout."

"But Sheck, what about the rest of these losers?"

Sheckley looked down at Moka, "The boss said he's only interested in this chick."

"Fine, you go ahead back then." Sheckley turned back at Tsukune and his friends, "I'm gonna stay and have me some more fun."

Sheckley shrugged, and slowly began to walk away. He stopped when he noticed the Rosario lying on the ground. He knew the girl was powerful, and that she could cause trouble if she woke up, and so Sheckley picked up the Rosario, reattaching it to Moka's chocker. "Just to play it safe." He said. Moka changed back into her sealed state, still unconscious.

As Sheckley walked out of the park, Griggs moved closer to Tsukune and his friends.

Tsukune placed his hand onto the holy lock on his wrist, "Here goes nothing…"

XXX

To be continued in next chapter.

* * *

**I hope people aren't _too _pissed off for having Moka beaten like this. Between Akuha and the villains tough enough to match her, Moka just isn't the baddest one around.  
**

**Very little is known about Fairy Tale at this point. If later Manga chapters happen to contradict what I got, just think of it as one of the effects of the alternate timeline. Sparing Akasha changes a lot, including what kind of person Akuha is. The decisions we make define who we are, and one small choice can make a larger and larger difference the more time it's had to sink in.**


	9. Chpt 9: Inquiry

**Tsukune's House**

Akuha stood on the doormat of Tsukune's house, and knocked. It took a moment, but Tsukune's mother Kasumi opened the door.

"Oh, I thought you were Tsukune." Kasumi said. She didn't seem to be as happy to see Akuha as she did before. Earlier, it seemed like she was trying to encourage Akuha and Tsukune to spend more time together, but something appeared to have changed her mind.

"What do you mean, Ms. Aono? Tsukune never came back?"

"Oh he came back alright, and he brought his friends from school with him." Kasumi said, sounding irritated rather than worried, "They all just stepped outside for a while."

Akuha didn't know where to start. What's got Tsukune's Mom so upset? What could Tsukune be doing outside so late at night? Who were these 'friends' Tsukune made in school? If they were also from Yōkai Academy, doesn't that mean that they're monsters?

Kasumi pointed to her right, "I think they ran off that way, they've been gone for about 15 minutes now."

"Alright, thanks." Akuha politely nodded, and turned around to leave. Kasumi closed the door behind her.

Instead of casually walking on the sidewalk, Akuha began jumping on the rooftops again. She started to feel a demonic aura as she traveled further in the direction Kasumi pointed. It seemed like Tsukune was in trouble after all. It wasn't Nightcry however. A different demonic energy was felt this time, not quite as strong, but still comparable to even a vampire's.

Akuha sighed in frustration. Ever since coming to this town, she felt like the whole world suddenly wanted to give her trouble… and no longer just most of the world. First Dythe, then Nightcry, and now this new guy, "I wouldn't be surprised if this next mystery monster has nothing to do with the last two." she said putting her palm to her face.

XXX

**Town Park**

Between the loud noises and Griggs' shouting, Tsukune couldn't imagine why not a single other person has noticed all the commotion yet. This was going on in the town's public park after all.

Tsukune stepped forward with a fearless look on his face, his hand on the holy lock. He had to risk it. Griggs was alone now and they were out of options anyways. When using his ghoul powers, he was just as strong, if not stronger than Moka. Moka would still win in a fight due to being more skilled however.

"So, tough guy huh?" Griggs said loudly, "Well let's see what you got." He brought his hands up, taking a boxing stance.

Tsukune ran forward sluggishly, bringing his right fist up to punch as hard as he could.

Griggs began to laugh, "Are you serious? By the way you're running at me, I'd assume you were hum-" he was cut off as Tsukune's pace suddenly quickened.

Tsukune's hair changed blood-brown and his eyes changed to look like that of a vampire's. He bolted straight at Griggs as fast as Moka did earlier, socking him right in the nose. Griggs was knocked back and nearly lost his balance, Tsukune's unexpected change taking him by surprise.

Tsukune then delivered a punch at Griggs' stomach, followed by grabbing him by the horns and bashing his head into the ground. He then threw one final blow, the megaton-punch he usually used to beat his enemies back at Yōkai Academy, sending Griggs tumbling away.

Griggs slid for a short distance before stopping. He struggled to get up, "You only got me cause I had my guard down!" Griggs shouted. He looked downward and saw his left horn lying on the ground. "What!" he screamed as his eyes went wide, "You son of a… you broke off one of my beautiful horns!" Despite the shouting he was making, he looked as if he was about to cry rather than get angry.

The holy lock reactivated, turning Tsukune back to normal again. The safe time limit for staying in his ghoul form was a bit longer, but he had no way of knowing when the point of no return was. "I'll keep reactivating it in short bursts," Tsukune thought, "there's no other way to fight him over a long period of time." As strong as he was in his ghoul form, his human form was completely useless in fight. His friends behind him just weren't strong enough either. They would need an S-rank monster to continue fighting with something that was part _god_.

Griggs quickly threw his closed-fist forward, "Falcon punch!" he yelled, despite being a Minotaur. Tsukune was hit when he had the holy lock only halfway disabled. His reflexes were also greatly reduced when reverting back to this human form, and couldn't change back fast enough.

Tsukune fell through the air like a rag doll, and landed on the ground completely human again.

Yukari ran over to him, "Tsukune! Are you alright?"

Tsukune lay on the ground. His ghoul side had taken most of the damage, but he was still so hurt that he could barely speak. "I think he just smashed every bone in my body…" he coughed and gagged, "with just that single punch."

"Hey what happened to all that power you just hit me with?" Griggs said dissatisfied, "We were just getting started."

"Hey there." A voice said behind him.

"Hi Akuha." Griggs said calmly, before realizing whom he just greeted. His eyes shot wide open, "Huh?" Griggs turned around, face to face with Akuha, "But I thought the boss was going to take care of you!"

XXX

Akuha just arrived at the park, "'The boss' you say? Seems that you really are working for Nightcry as I thought." She looked around at the park, the whole place looked like a terrible mess. There were three large craters in the ground and nearly every tree was knocked over. "The people who live around here sure must be hard sleepers." She checked behind Griggs and noticed Tsukune. Seeing him badly injured the way he was made Akuha feel something snap inside. She placed her hand around her necklace, and her calm expression changed to that of an angered one.

"So, you want a piece of me?" Griggs said, challenging her, "You would be the third vampire I pummeled tonight." He didn't seem to know that Tsukune wasn't a vampire, and was instead using ghoul powers.

Akuha needed only a moment to analysis her opponent. By appearance, Griggs looked exceptionally strong and impressive, but feeling his energy out told her so much more. From what she could tell, she was up against some kind of demigod, descended from a Greek or Egyptian god. It would take something like _that_ to match a vampire after all.

Griggs stomped forward, confident that he could beat another vampire even with the damage he sustained earlier. "Falcon Pu-" he began to yell, but came to a complete stop when Akuha palm-struck him in the center of his chest.

Even though it was just one palm strike, the sheer amount of power put into the single attack was phenomenal. The force of the hit resonated through Griggs' body, shattering his insides like glass. Griggs let out a deafening cry of pain. It sounded bizarre, like something between Dolly Parton on helium and a cow giving birth to Siamese twins… oh, and then he then fell to the ground.

Akuha had taken Griggs down in one hit. The difference between her approach, and Moka's and Tsukune's wasn't in strength, but in technique. Akuha quickly found one soft spot, and focused all her strength for one strike there. Moka and Tsukune could have done the same if they were trained to.

Akuha looked back at Tsukune, who was having a hard time trying to stand up. Akuha's legs felt like jelly, and just couldn't stand still anymore. "Tsukune!" she shouted as she hugged Tsukune with a near tackle, "I was so worried about you! You aren't hurt too bad right?" she felt someone pull her away from Tsukune from behind.

"WHO ARE YOU?" A blue haired, large breasted girl shouted furiously.

Due to being so concerned with Tsukune, Akuha hadn't really noticed that there were three others nearby until just now. They must have been Tsukune's friends from school… but why were all three of them girls?

XXX

**The ****Next ****Morning** – **Tsukune's ****House**

Tsukune lay in bed. His injuries weren't too serious, and could heal quickly with the help of the vampire blood that ran through his veins. Kasumi gave up on trying to understand what was going on, and instead just took Akuha's word that everything was fine.

While in the living room, Akuha introduced herself to the other three girls. In turn, they each told a little bit about themselves.

"So let me get this straight," Akuha said while sitting on the couch, "you're telling me that you're each _what_ to Tsukune?"

"His lover", "His concubine", "His wife", Kurumu, Yukari, and Mizore said respectively.

Akuha couldn't believe what she was hearing. Is _this_ related to the big secret Tsukune was hiding? Something like this is very… unordinary.

"How about I ask you a question?" Kurumu said aggravated, "How do you know Tsukune?"

Akuha decided to resort to telling half-truths again. "We met almost a week ago. I was new to this town and I he was kind enough to show me around." she eyed Kurumu with a nasty look. "But I had no idea Tsukune surrounded himself with such company."

"Why Tsukune of all people?" Yukari asked.

At least the witch was behaving politely, "Good question." Akuha said, "I just happened to notice the holy lock on his wrist. I asked him about it, and that's how we began to talk." She felt curious as to how these girls also knew Tsukune, "How about the three of you? Why are you all so infatuated with Tsukune?"

"Tsukune is my destined one!" Kurumu said optimistically.

"Why him of all people?" Akuha asked, repeating what Yukari said.

"Do I need a reason?" Kurumu snapped, "He stood up for me back at school. We hung out and got closer after that."

Akuha turned to Mizore, whom had been silent until now, "How about you? Why do hang around Tsukune?"

"To have a baby." Mizore said as if it weren't a big deal.

"Wh-what?" Akuha's eyebrow lifted in disbelief.

"Yuki-Onna are a dieing race of Yōkai. I won't be fertile for very long, so I need to reproduce soon."

"Well, I guess I understand the urgency, but why does it have to be Tsukune? I'm sure you could easily get with another guy if you tried."

Mizore didn't say anything back, and just sat there with a straight face.

Akuha looked over at Yukari, "And you?"

"About time." Yukari said happily "My dream… is to win both Tsukune's and Moka's love at the same time."

Akuha was left speechless. There wasn't a way on Earth to respond to that. "Scratch my original opinion of the witch," she thought privately to herself, "she creeps me out _the__most_ of these three girls." She felt almost convinced that this was the 'secret' Fairy Tale was so interested in. It was like Tsukune had some kind of power or artifact that allowed him to attract girls. Even Akuha had to admit that she felt warm around Tsukune somehow. But if Nightcry wanted this for himself then… NO, NO, NO! It was too soon to assume anything like that.

"Tough luck trying that with a chest as flat as a pan." Kurumu teased Yukari.

Akuha suddenly froze in realization of what Yukari said a moment ago. "Wait a second, Tsukune and…" she reflected on what was said earlier, "Moka?" Akuha decided that she must have been going crazy or something. Maybe she was delusional as a side effect of thinking about Moka all the time. "Uh, Yukari? Could you please repeat to me what you said your objective was?"

"Oh? You think it's cute?" Yukari said, "I'm trying to win both Tsukune's and Moka's love at the same time. The second of these two isn't here right now though."

Moka… Moka… Moka? The named echoed through Akuha's head over and over. She felt even more stunned than she was before. "Forget these creepy girls," she thought privately, "They know my younger sister Moka? That's not possible…" So many questions echoed through her mind. It's been 7 long years since she last saw her sister. It was too much of a coincidence that she would be associated with her current target.

"Something wrong?" Mizore asked, "You look as if you're terrified."

Akuha decided to keep it to herself and wait until she knew what was going on. Telling anyone would make things more complicated. There was still the possibility that this 'Moka' was a different person with the same name. "Uh… nothing, nothing at all." Then again, Moka was not a common name.

Kurumu stood up and motioned Akuha out of the room, "I'd like to talk to you in private." she said.

Akuha hesitated, "Fine with me." The two of them walked into a different part of the house.

Once they were alone, Kurumu grabbed Akuha by the collar, "Listen up, I don't care if you're a vampire. Stay away from my Tsukune!"

"What?" Akuha asked. Kurumu seemed pretty protective of Tsukune. Did she find out about Akuha's real reason for being in this town?

"Don't play dumb. I saw the way you hugged Tsukune last night in the park. Admit that you have feelings for him!"

In some ways, Akuha felt relieved that it was about something trivial, on the other hand, she felt her face turn red. "Feelings for Tsukune?"

"You act like you're so tough, but you-"

"Why should I just stand here and take this kind of talk from you?" Akuha said interrupting Kurumu. She felt her fists tighten.

"I have the right to say it. Cause I love him too!"

Akuha felt speechless. It wasn't out of surprise, anger, or anything of that nature. She just couldn't believe that she was caught up in something as brainless as a love triangle. She was an expert assassin, anything like this was below her.

"Did you hear me? I said I love Tsukune," she pointed right at Akuha, "and I'm not about to lose to the likes of you!"

Despite the insignificance of the subject, Akuha felt aggravated… very aggravated. She had never cared about courtship, but she had always cared about winning. Kurumu's outburst felt like another challenge or fight to overcome, instead of a tug-of-war over a man. She just couldn't stand taking this verbal abuse any longer. "I also like Tsukune," Akuha felt the words spill out, "and I also have feelings for him!" She couldn't believe what just came out of her own mouth.

"Fine," Kurumu said as she folded her arms, "then I guess we understand each other." she began to walk out of the room.

Akuha just stood there in the room, confused. Everything that had just happened was too much to take in at once.

Kurumu returned to the living room, "Great, as if one vampire wasn't enough." she told herself.

XXX

**Underneath The Town**

Moka (sealed version) woke up, lying on a dirty looking mattress. It looked like she was underground somewhere, in an abandoned subway station. A few of the lights were working, only faintly lighting the place up.

Everything came back to Moka, the beating of her life and getting kidnapped. Something seemed strange though. She didn't feel nearly as hurt as she should have been. Sure, she did still feel wounded, but she got up and stood quite easily.

"Imbecile," Nightcry said at the other side of the station, "It looked like you nearly killed her. I told you not to rough her up so much."

Nightcry seemed to be angry with Sheckley. His tone seemed to be calm though.

"Sorry boss," Sheckley said, "but Griggs was the one who went overboard, not me."

"And where is Griggs now?"

"Uh, he said he wanted to stay behind to finish her friends off. He still hasn't come back though."

Nightcry made a sigh of frustration, "I told you two to avoid unnecessary fights. The Black Devil would intervene if either of you stuck around for too long."

"Oh… then I guess that's probably what happened. You should have told us that before we left."

"I _did_ tell you."

"Oh… sorry. Griggs was poking me at the time so I guess I wasn't listening."

Nightcry looked over at Moka, "Also, you said that her seal was removed at one time. Why was it reattached?"

"Uh, I thought having her powers active would be dangerous."

"Then how do you presume we take it back off? The only one we know can remove it is just that 'Tsukune' boy."

Sheckley made a weak smile, "Didn't know, boss."

"I remember specifically telling you and Griggs her name, description, abilities, and what to do with her when you caught her. I can see now that it just went over those empty heads of yours."

Moka heard enough, and decided to try and sneak out while they were bickering. She looked around, but all of the tunnels and exits looked barricaded. Only a single door nearby seemed unblocked. She got up quietly and snuck over to the door. It was probably locked, but that didn't mean it wasn't worth a try. She pulled on it. It was definitely locked.

"Going somewhere?" Sheckley said behind her.

Moka collapsed to the ground in fear. She covered herself in her arms to shield herself from being struck. Sheckley did not hit her, but he scared her nonetheless.

"Sheckley, enough!" Nightcry shouted.

"I was just having some fun boss."

"You and Griggs have screwed up enough."

Sheckley turned and walked off, "Fine, whatever."

Nightcry turned and looked down at Moka, "My… acquaintances have a habit of misinterpreting my instructions." He held his hand forward, offering to help her up.

Moka felt afraid of what might happen if she didn't comply, and so she quickly took his hand to be pulled up. "Are… are you going to hurt me?"

"No, I wont. Just as long as you don't give me a reason to." Nightcry said, "but don't get too relaxed, remember you are still my prisoner."

XXX

**Tsukune's House**

Akuha walked into the basement of the house. So many things were running through her head right now. "Focus on one thing at a time," Akuha decided, "Moka… if there is even the slightest possibility that my little sister is in danger, she's my first priority." From what Tsukune told her, a girl by the name of Moka was kidnapped and taken away by Griggs' partner. He seemed to go by the name 'Sheckley'.

Akuha knew exactly who to speak to. She opened a pair of doors that lead to a small dark room, a single small light hung above.

A crippled, one horned Griggs was chained to a chair, sealing charms were duct taped all over the chains to keep him from summoning the strength to break out. "I ain't telling you nothing!" He shouted.

"I have _methods_ for getting the information I need." Akuha said, "For your sake, you better not force me to use them."

"You don't scare me vampire! No kind of torture will get me to talk. No kind!"

"I'll be the judge of that." Akuha said as she smiled, putting on a terrifying face, "As I said, I have methods…"

XXX

Griggs was indeed a tough shell to crack. Everything ranging from physical pain to psychological pain didn't even make him budge. Twisting his limbs, poking him with _lots_ of needles, punching him in the face while glass was in his mouth, Chinese water torture, and even listening to Barney music. Not one of these methods had any effect whatsoever. After a while of experimenting, Akuha finally figured out what made Griggs cry.

Griggs let out a _loud_, guttural shriek as if in horrible pain, "**AGGHHHH!**"

Akuha set something on the table in front of Griggs. "You… want… _this_?" she said as she laughed cruelly and sadistically.

"You _sick_, diabolical fiend!"

"Now tell me where Moka has been taken!"

"No! Never! I won't break!" He shouted as his eyes watered.

Akuha then looked down on the strawberry sundae on the table in front of her. She suddenly smashed it with her fist, causing it to splatter.

"**AHHHHH!**" Griggs let out another screech, resembling that of a cow in pain.

Once Griggs calmed down, Akuha held forward a huge, juicy steak in front of him. She waved it back and forth. Griggs began drooling at the site of the stake, his eyes following every movement it made.

Akuha began to slowly lick the steak, from the bottom working her way to the top.

"No! Please don't! NOOOOO!"

Akuha took a huge chomp out of the stake and chewed right in front of Griggs' face. "Mmmmm." She moaned as loud as she could. She didn't actually like the steak, but she could tell that pretending to enjoy it bothered Griggs. "Ready to talk now?"

Griggs looked at her, unsure of what to say. He watched as Akuha then pulled out a super-sized hamburger and a large soda. "Alright, alright! She's been taken to an abandoned subway station near the west side of town, the entrance is right next to a big coffee shop!"

"Good boy." Akuha said as she held the burger forward, letting Griggs take a bite out of it.

XXX

A while later, Akuha went to speak with Tsukune alone in his room.

Tsukune seemed to be in good shape again rather quickly, "So, did he tell you where my friend has been taken?" Tsukune asked.

"Yeah, he did. What did you say your friend's name was?" Akuha still remembered, Moka. How could she forget? She had only asked to start a conversation about her.

"Her name is Moka." Tsukune said, "She was the first friend I made at Yōkai Academy."

"Can you describe her?"

"Well, she has long pink hair, and she's very beautiful."

Akuha was taken back at the mention of pink hair, in opposition to silver hair. Maybe this was a different Moka after all. "What kind Yōkai species does she belong to?"

"Vampire, like you."

Akuha's heart felt like it skipped a beat. "Or maybe it is." she thought privately, "Perhaps _this_ is what Fairy Tale sent me here for. It's something involving my sister." Another detail came to mind. It was true that Moka's hair wasn't pink… but _Akasha's _was. What's going on here?

"Akuha?" Tsukune asked, "You're going to help get her back right?"

"Of course I will Tsuk. In fact I was planning on going right now."

"Then I'm coming with you."

"Huh? We don't have time for being sentimental," Akuha said, "just leave it to me, I don't want you getting hurt." Half true, Tsukune would just get in the way, but she couldn't bring herself to say that.

"I'm coming whether you like it or not. I'm not letting Moka down."

"If you come with me, you'll get torn to pieces, do you want her to see that?" Akuha herself didn't want to see it.

"I'm ready to take that risk and I know what I'm signing up for."

Akuha had to admit, Tsukune acted really brave when his friends were in danger. He almost changed into a completely different person.

"There's more," Tsukune spoke in a firm, unyielding tone, "not only will my ghoul powers come in handy, but I'm also the only one who can remove Moka's Rosario. The one she wears to seal her powers off."

XXX

To be continued in next chapter.

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**Feel free to review, it would help the story to know the reader's thoughts.**


	10. Chpt 10: Life

**At first, there was only one other Akuha/Tsukune story up and it hasn't updated in quite some time (two if you count the cancelled one). Not long after starting this story, other Akuha/Tsukune fics have been popping up. Not saying I inspired them though, as it's most likely due to the manga focusing on Akuha more in recent chapters.**

**Redwarrioroflight, Xagzan, if either of you are reading this, keep writing, you're doing a great job so far… and I _love_ competition.**

**Unrelated: This is the first chapter title that doesn't follow the usual theme. This is due to being centered on a different character.**

* * *

**Tsukune's House**

Akuha thought to herself: what was it that Tsukune just told her? "Only you can remove this Rosario you say Moka wears?" she asked, taking in what she heard a moment ago.

"Yeah, that's exactly it." Tsukune said bluntly.

"Uh, Tsukune? That kind of sounds like something important. Do you think it's wise to have told me that?"

"Well, it's not something I would tell to just anyone," Tsukune made a guilty look, as if reminded of a past mistake he once made, "not anymore anyways."

"And yet you told me anyways because of what?"

"I told you because I trust you. Like the others, I'd even trust you with my life."

Akuha frowned at this. Tsukune admitted to trusting his life to someone who was sent to kill him. "Are you sure trusting me is a good idea?"

Tsukune smiled. "Of course. If you were up to something, then you would have done it by now, right?"

"But there's still so much you don't know about me. You don't know where I came from, how I was raised, or what else I've been doing with my life besides traveling."

"Akuha, I know what most vampires are like. Usually they're solitary, prideful, and don't care for those that are weaker than them," Tsukune stared straight into Akuha's eyes, "but up till now you've acted sociable, respectful, and you even went out of your way to save my life twice. That's not easy for a vampire to do. I know that you've shown kindness to me, and that is all that I _need_ to know." Once again, it wasn't anything romantic to him, he was just talking to a friend he deeply trusted, whom was going to help him save Moka.

Akuha took in the situation entirely differently. She didn't know if she felt passionate and wanted to hug him, or if she wanted to slap him and call him an idiot for trusting too easily… it was both. On one hand, Tsukune was very good-natured and he acted with bravery when his friends were in danger. One the other hand, he was _too_ good-natured and he acted with bravery _only_ when his friends were in danger. "So you trust me just because I've been nice?"

"No, it's because I've gotten to know you," Tsukune said, "and I know that the kind of person I've understood you to be would make the right choice."

Akuha was starting to lean more towards slapping Tsukune. 'The right choice' he said? A murderer is the kind of person she is. Tsukune didn't know how terrible and ruthless she could really be. She was a fiend even among other vampires, a monster of monsters. True she had acted kind around Tsukune, but only to further her own agenda.

The importance behind any act is not the act itself, but the reason for it. Akuha had acted social so she could investigate Tsukune better, she had acted kind to avoid suspicion, and she had saved his life because it would inconvenience her mission if he died. Tsukune was either a horrible judge of character or… a great one?

A gambit of emotions echoed through Akuha's mind. The importance behind an act is its reason isn't it? Why then did she not feel convinced? Maybe there was even more to an act than just the reason, but also the truth. The truth was that she actually enjoyed chatting with Tsukune, she didn't need to put on a false expression to act kind around him, and she would never…_ never_ want to see him die…

Perhaps deep down, Akuha was exactly the kind of person Tsukune said she was, and at the same time, the complete opposite. Like how she felt about Tsukune's speech, she didn't feel one emotion and not the other, but she felt both at once. What kind of person would she be like if she were raised differently? If she were raised the same way Moka was, without a care or worry in the world.

"I didn't tell the others where we're going." Tsukune said, "sure I don't want them to worry, but I'd hate to see them get hurt even more." He then noticed the mystified looked on Akuha's face, "Is there something wrong Akuha? I'd say you look concerned but…

"It would be an understatement." Akuha laughed.

"Well, if you want, we could take a-

"No no no! We're not going to delay our rescue just because of a measly headache."

"Well, I guess we better get moving then." Tsukune said with optimism. He began to fast walk away.

Akuha looked on at Tsukune, not knowing what to think about him. How has Tsukune lived this long, trusting others as readily as he has? It could be because he's so good at making friends. The traits Akuha admired about Tsukune were the same ones that she looked down upon. "Wait up Tsuk." she said as she ran to catch up to him.

XXX

**Abandoned Subway Station**

Moka sat on the right side of a couch, trying to stay calm and quiet. Things seemed quite boring down here, but she hoped for her own sake that it would stay that way. Earlier Sheckley asked if he could 'have some fun' with her, but Nightcry declined his request. For some reason, her captor was treating her fairly well.

Nightcry moved over to Moka, "Eat," he said as he gave her a paper bag, "You haven't had anything since you were brought here."

Moka opened the paper bag, finding a ham sandwich as well as a small carton of juice inside. "Th-thank you." she said nervously.

Nightcry sat down at the left side of the couch. He bent forward and clasped his hands together, resting his elbows on his knees, his hood casted a shadow over his face. Moka looked over at him for what felt like an eternity. There were so many questions she wanted to ask him, but she didn't want to aggravate him either

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Moka asked him, "I can tell that you healed me earlier."

"I said I wouldn't hurt you as long as you didn't give me a reason to." Nightcry said calmly without looking at her, "I kept my word."

Moka took the plastic wrapping off the sandwich, deciding to do what Nightcry told her. Having a snack was a small matter anyways. After she took a few bites out of the sandwich, she gathered the courage to speak again. "What do you want from me? Why did you just bring me here and decide not to do anything to me?"

Nightcry slowly turned his head towards Moka.

Moka felt what little courage she gathered escape, "You don't have to answer if don't want to!" she said in panic, putting her hands slightly up.

"Something very important to me was lost, and I want it back."

"Huh? Something important?" Moka felt comfort from that answer. At least his end goal wasn't to kill anyone. "Am I somehow responsible? Someone in my family or somebody that I know?"

It was if Nightcry didn't hear her. After a short moment passed by, he instead answered her with another question, "Tell me Moka, do you enjoy living the life you have now?"

Moka felt nervous again, his response seemed like a threat the way it was worded.

"I speak not of simply possessing life, but rather how we live it. Being happy, angry, relieved or frustrated… being able to _feel_ life, that is what makes one truly 'alive'.

Moka nodded, understanding what he meant. "Yes, I am grateful for the life I have."

"Of course you would." He spoke in a cold, impassive tone, "You have a family that loves you, close friends to turn to, and a school to attend. For a vampire, you live a very simple lifestyle, without a care or worry in the world. How could anyone not appreciate a life like that?"

"You sound sort of… envious."

"Envious? I have more power than even you, a vampire, could ever imagine, and yet you accuse me of being envious?"

Moka just sat there, too petrified to say anything.

"I am so powerful… and yet I am dead, unable to feel anything." Nightcry brought up his hands, starring at his palms as his hands closed into fists, "Too long have I been dieing and haven't died, too long have I been living as a lifeless empty shell. You will never realize the true worth of an uncomplicated life until it is lost. You'll never forget the experience."

The tone Nightcry spoke in didn't sound sad, but something about his wording suggested otherwise. The more Moka heard, the more curious she felt. "You once lived a normal life?" she asked, "Well, normal for a monster I mean."

"That part of me is dead and gone."

XXX

**9 Years Ago – America, West Coast**

Inside a small looking home sat a ten-year-old human boy named Alistair. Everyone just called him Al for short. At the moment he sat on the couch watching the original Star Wars trilogy. He got it as a Christmas present from a relative across county a short while ago, and watched all three movies quite often. For some reason, they just never got boring to him.

Al really liked the protagonist, Luke Skywalker. It wasn't that he could relate to him, but Luke just felt like a real person. In 'A New Hope' he saw Luke's problems, hopes and dreams, his frustrations, and then even felt his sadness when his Aunt and Uncle were found dead. The slow build up in the movie added depth, emotion, and anticipation, which made the rest of the trilogy so enjoyable.

One of Al's favorite scenes from 'The Empire Strikes Back' was when Luke tried to lift his X-Wing out of the swamp.

"Size matters not." Yoda said after Luke gave up, "Look at me. Judge me by my size do you? Well you should not! For my ally is the Force. And a powerful ally it is."

What Yoda said to Luke next really spoke to Al.

"Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us… and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter!" Yoda nudged Luke's arm, "You must feel the Force around you. Here, between you, me, the tree, the rock… everywhere! Even between the land and the ship."

Al loved the idea of 'The Force' in Star Wars. The ultimate point of Yoda's speech was that 'The Force' was beyond the physical. The idea just seemed so magical and fascinating the way it was presented.

"Al?" his mother called as she opened the front door and came inside, holding bags of groceries, "I'm back."

Alistair paused the television and came over to his mother, "Hey Mom. Need any help with those?" Just the two of them heaved the grocery bags into the dinning room.

No one else lived in this house, just Al and his mother. Father died when Al was only two years old, and so Mother worked to support them both with her minimum wage job. Al's uncle from his Father's side of the family offered them money, but Mother refused. She just seemed to prefer working hard and earning what she got.

While Alistair didn't live the best life, he was still happy, living with only his Mother.

XXX

**Present Time – Abandoned Subway Station**

"Alistair? So that's your name?" Moka asked, "and you're… human? I thought you were some kind of western monster I wasn't familiar with."

"I _was_ human," Nightcry said impassively, "I once had a carefree life, like yours is now. I grew up as a normal child, but became the malevolent killer I am today." He paused for a moment, "Are you disappointed?"

"No, of course not!" Moka said quickly, "But… I am curious. What could possibly have happened to you?"

"An American black operations unit took me away, that's what happened."

"And the American government just let that happen?"

"Officially, the unit doesn't exist. Their activities are not overseen as long as they get the job done."

"What job? Who are they?"

"Supernatural Suppression and Elimination, or SSE for short. They're a private heavily funded military created to combat monsters."

"Combat monsters? But I thought human governments didn't know…"

"You don't really believe that do you?" Alistair adjusted the headband he wore over his eyes, "Think about it, monsters have been traveling back and forth between their world and the human world in great number, not all of them have been keeping a low profile. What's to stop a dim-witted Cyclops from going on a murderous rampage if given the chance? There are almost seven billion humans living in this world today, of course one of them would have noticed all the activity by now."

Moka shrugged. The battle in the public park yesterday was pretty destructive, and no one noticing it was nothing short of amazing. Luck like that couldn't happen every time monsters fought in the human world.

"The SSE covers it up, and they work hard to preserve the ignorance of the public. They have been allowed free reign when it comes to dealing with monsters running amuck, only on American soil thankfully."

"But you said you were human. Harming you had to have been breaking some kind of rule."

"No, it wouldn't matter to them as long as they got what they wanted." Alistair looked at his right arm as it morphed into a spiked tentacle. "They abducted me in the middle of the night, drugging me to keep me out. The next thing I knew, I woke up in a research lab on an isolated island. Their experiment was already ready for me before I got there."

"Why did it have to be you? What sort of experiment was it?"

Alistair hesitated, there were a lot of details he didn't talk about. The panic from not knowing why he was there, all the screaming he made while being experimented on, how much he missed his Mother…

XXX

**7 Years Ago – SSE Research labs**

A number of scientists looked through a large bulletproof glass window, overlooking a sizable testing chamber. In the testing chamber was a twelve-year-old Alistair, restrained to a steel chair. He struggled a lot when he first woke up, but after being here for a week and given many sedatives, he stopped trying to fight back. Dozens of injectors hung over his arms, legs, and chest, all just inches away from stabbing him. They contained heavily modified vampire blood.

"There really isn't anyone else?" asked one of the scientists behind the glass.

"Indeed," said another scientist, "among the 50,000 DNA samples we've recovered and tested, his is the only one that properly bonded. Theoretically, only one person in every quarter-million would be compatible."

The last ten years, the SSE spent a lot of time and resources trying to find better ways to overcome more powerful monsters. Guns, explosives, and other conventional weapons worked fine on A-rank monsters and below, but others like Phoenixes, Werewolves, and especially Vampires required much more to bring down. Taking advantage of their natural weaknesses sometimes worked, but that alone wasn't something to keep relying on. They needed to find some other kind of solution.

Vampires are known to be the strongest of natural occurring monsters, they knew that if a human were to be given some of their blood, it would grant him comparable strength without the weaknesses, but at the cost of going berserk until his body tares itself apart from the inside. If they figured out how to keep the injected human from going out of control as well as how to keep his body stabilized, they would have the perfect soldiers to fight S-rank monsters with. With the cutting-edge technology they had, they could even extend their abilities further than that of natural vampires.

They conducted endless amounts of research on vampire blood, uncovering what it was capable of and exactly how it worked. They discovered that it constantly generated and accumulated large amounts demonic energy, and then was capable of converting the accumulated energy into another form, naturally being raw strength. This was quite similar to the already-known Shadow Claw, which could also generate demonic energy in their blood, but only in the absence of light. This similar ability suggested very distant, yet common ancestry. The eyes of a vampire resembled that of a snake, and Shadow Claw were reptilian-like, so it made sense if they branched off in opposite directions from the same ancestor.

Deciding that converting energy to only strength was limited, the SSE sought to go even further by adding more abilities. While Shadow Claw were significantly weaker than vampires, the similarities in their blood allowed them to mix well. After replacing, mixing, and modifying various properties of the vampire blood with substances taken from Shadow Claw, they created very different vampire blood that could both generate energy naturally as well as draw even more from the dark. Its ability to store energy was exponentially increased, and it was able to convert energy into many more forms than just strength.

The powers of both, the weaknesses of neither… There could be no greater monster specialist than a vampire with enhanced abilities and without any weaknesses.

The SSE scientists had also found a way to sterilize the psychological parts of the blood, keeping the injected human from losing his mind. The sterilization had side effects however, it completely deleted every mental feature that made someone a human, leaving whoever it was used on to be as blank as a machine. Perhaps that could be perfected with a little more research.

Alistair was a prototype, not meant to see any action, but only a test subject to see what would work and what wouldn't. He was the only one the SSE currently knew of that would properly bond with modified blood, everyone else it was used on quickly died.

One other property that was added to the blood, allowed the SSE scientists to control the test subject. Once the blood's effects were properly tested, just this part would be removed when given to compatible operatives, not that they've found any yet.

The experiment began, and the injectors stabbed into Alistair. He screamed as he felt his body begin to change drastically, quickly inheriting the many powers and abilities that the modified blood stored. As vicious as the physical changes were, what felt far worse were the mental changes. He felt his mind get ripped apart and destroyed beyond all recognition. Any emotions of fear quickly vanished, along with the ability to feel any other emotion. These enormous changes happening instantaneously were just too much for a human mind to take, let alone that of a twelve-year-old.

The scientists looked on at Alistair. Despite at first looking scrawny, his body bulked up and looked fairly muscular. He didn't grow bigger, but looked very healthy and fit.

Black mist seemed to be generating from out of Alistair's eye sockets. "What's wrong with his eyes?" One of the scientists asked.

"It's quite possible that we mixed in a little more Shadow Claw DNA than we thought." Shadow claw generated black mist from where their eyes would normally be. They saw differently from other creatures, sending out small ripples of energy out in all directions to tell where everything was, how it was shaped, and even what color it was. It worked like a sonar, but used energy instead of sound.

"He seems to have inherited more abilities from Shadow Claw than we would have liked." Said another scientist.

"But how is that a bad thing? Don't we want him to be stronger than natural monsters?"

"We don't want them to be _too_ powerful. Shadow Claw are weak, but they compensate for that by having a lot of useful tricks. Amplifying these 'tricks' to a vampire's league is like going from a grenade to a nuclear bomb."

Alistair fully transformed and finally felt the changes stop. His mind was broken, and all that was left were a few of his memories. He could still remember his name and that he was kidnapped against his will. He remembered who his Mother was, but he couldn't recall a single experience he had with her. The memories and images from his entire past life were erased.

"It seems we made another miscalculation." one of the scientists said, "His mind isn't as empty as we intended. He still has free will."

"It's a good thing we played things safe then. Those ultraviolet lights we have shining on him prevent power accumulation, and he hasn't already stored up any."

Alistair could hear them, but now he didn't feel like he cared. "I want out…" he said coldly, like a completely different person. Without looking around, he 'saw' his surroundings through his new kind of vision. Though it was the first time he used it, it felt natural, as he also inherited the Shadow Claw's instincts. He didn't have any demonic energy stored in his veins, but he could feel out any dark places around him. Suddenly from out the one of the scientist's own shadows, a burst of energy shot up at the overhead lights, completely darkening the room they were in.

Energy manipulation at long distance, neither Shadow Claw nor Vampire could do this, but with the powers of the former at the magnitude of the latter, it could be done easily. It was one other thing the SSE scientists had gravely miscalculated on, what _new_ abilities would be made when the two were mixed?

While Alistair was still under ultraviolet light, he had great influence over the dark room that the scientists were in. It was if he were in there as well. Black tentacles emerged out from the floor, all made of energy drawn from the dark and made tangible. Alistair tore off the scientist's heads one by one, he felt nothing as he had no emotions, but was reminded by what few past memories he still had. He knew that he should have been awestruck by what he just did. It was like his powers went beyond the physical. The idea just seemed so magical and fascinating.

Alistair manipulated the buttons and switches in the room, turning off the ultraviolet lights. Energy filled his entire body, allowing him to easily break out from his restraints. He quickly tore right through the _steel wall_ and began to rampage through the facility.

The SSE military personal were incredibly quick to respond to the new threat. They weren't expected it, but they were so well trained that they may as well have. They skipped using mere assault rifles, and attacked with explosives, .50 cal anti-tank rifles, and even unconventional advanced weapons that were in their testing phase. They hit Alistair with everything, even a full-fledged vampire would have a lot of trouble, but Alistair was beyond even that.

After a long fight, the creature that was once a twelve-year-old boy killed most everyone and escaped the facility.

XXX

**Present Time – Abandoned Subway Station**

All the scientific explanations Alistair made weren't easy to comprehend, but Moka was very book-smart. She got good grades in science class, as with all the other subjects she studied in school.

"I see, so that's why you seem so unique, you're one of a kind." Moka said. She took a moment to piece everything together, "So… you're a ghoul that isn't going berserk, armed with Shadow Claw abilities, right?"

"Enhanced by human engineering, I was made to be a weapon for them," Alistair said, "something capable of fighting S-rank monsters head-on and beating them, but the SSE were careless, they were dealing with forces beyond their imagination. They could never comprehend how dangerous it was until it was too late. Some things are just best left untouched."

Moka didn't know what to think about Alistair anymore. Part of her felt sorry for him, but another part of her still felt afraid. In a strange way, she felt both at once.

"Everything they did to me, this is why I hate humans, even if I once was one."

"Hate humans?" Moka felt a twinge of sympathy, "I once did too, I was treated badly by some a long time ago." She thought of Tsukune, "But those cruel acts don't represent their entire race. Recently I've learned to judge a person for _who_ they are, not _what_ they are."

"How very touching." Alistair's arm changed back to normal, "That is why I only enjoy killing one type of person, one that devotes himself only to personal power."

XXX

Akuha walked through the underground station passages, accompanied only by Tsukune. She tried to discourage him from coming with her, but to no success. Tsukune was too persistent, too determined, and Moka was in danger. Had this been to rescue anyone else, Akuha would never have given in. Eventually, she decided that she would instead hold nothing back and work as efficiently as possible, casting aside any desire for enjoyment from a fight. She would go through any lengths to save Moka while keeping Tsukune alive at the same time.

The two of them began to approach the door to where Moka and Alistair were. Sheckley stood guard just outside, sitting down on a folding chair while reading a newspaper. His eyes lit up at the sight of 'The Black Devil'.

"Wow, you found us a lot faster that I thought." Sheckley said in surprise.

"After finding out what tormented your friend, it wasn't difficult getting the information I needed." Akuha took a martial arts fighting stance.

"Something that can torment Griggs? You've got to tell me what it is," A demonic aura began to surround Sheckley, "after I beat you to a pulp of course." Fur began to grow all over him, his nose extended into a snout, and his teeth grew sharp while his mouth reformed. He transformed into a humanoid wolf.

"A werewolf?" Tsukune said in surprise. He remembered how fast and formidable Ginei was back at Yōkai Academy. Sheckley looked much bigger and stronger though, and he had sharper claws and teeth. "This could be trouble."

"He's a Lycaon," Akuha said, "a much stronger variety of werewolf." It was just like there were different kinds of vampires, Shinso being an example of this.

"Don't think I'll go down as easily as that stupid cow." Sheckley said as he bared his enormous claws.

Akuha readied the Jigen-Tou attack with her right arm, she didn't have time for this. It would be a dirty trick, but it was necessary. She suddenly pointed behind Sheckley as her eyes went wide, "Holy s***!" she shouted as if in great shock.

Sheckley looked behind himself for a second. What could possibly have spooked someone like 'The Black Devil' that much?

While Sheckley wasn't looking, Akuha abruptly slashed his lower half off with the Hogetsu Jigen-Tou attack. "Suuuuuckeeeeer!" she yelled. She just pulled a Jigen-Tou equivalent of a sucker-punch.

Tsukune felt daunted by what he just saw, "A-Akuha! Was it really necessary to just kill him like that?" He never liked to kill others, even his opponents.

"It got the job done." Akuha said as she looked back at Tsukune, "Do you want to save Moka or not?" She wasn't angry, but she always acted fiery whenever a fight was on her hands.

"Well, yeah but…" Tsukune felt uneasy. Akuha was usually quite cheerful on her pastime, but killing seemed to mean nothing to her. "I guess that just can't be helped, its something natural to vampires."

XXX

Alistair felt Akuha's energy nearby, she finally came, and she had brought the boy 'Tsukune' with her. Why did Sheckley try to fight them? He was supposed to stay out of their way until Moka's Rosario was removed again. He probably didn't listen to instructions again…

"I still don't understand one thing." Moka said to Alistair, "You never told me what involvement I have in this."

Alistair didn't answer for a moment again. Was he thinking of a way to phrase it? Did he not want to tell her? He was impossible to read. "Remember what I said about losing something important to me?"

Moka just looked at him, both curious and afraid of what the answer may be.

"I found a way to get it back…"

XXX

To be continued in next chapter.

* * *

**Why does Alistair want Moka's blood? It's not for power, I'll say at least that right now.**

**Unrelated: Lycaon is the name of an Arcadian king that tried to test Zeus' immortality. He was changed into a wolf as punishment.**

**Unrelated: No, there's no romance between Alistair and Moka.**

**Unrelated: Using traditional monsters that we've already seen before would have been boring and without tension. That's why I've been using things like science fiction and gods. The bad guys have got to be strong.**

**Unrelated: Not the longest chapter, but the most challenging one to write so far.**

**Unrelated: A **_**very**_** special thanks goes to Cooking Samurai. While I gave life to Nightcry's back-story, Cooking Samurai came up with the original concept for it.**

**Unrelated: The name "Shadow Claw" came from an attack move in… Pokemon.**

**Unrelated: The term 'monster' is used a lot instead of 'Yōkai' due to the SSE being American.**

**Unrelated: Right before this update was made, I got an average of 4.77 reviews per chapter.**

**Unrelated: This 'unrelated' gag is getting overdone.**

**Unrelated: And then I take a breath.**


	11. Chpt 11: Perspective

**The fight in this chapter went through multiple revisions. It is seen through many different perspectives, hopping from one to another. A strange move, but I wanted this to be a very different kind of fight from the other ones earlier in the story.**

**Lets have a drinking game! Take a gulp per every Prototype reference you see!**

**Oh, and one other thing… for those of you just picking up this story, note that this is considered to be my weakest chapter. I actually agree, and even thought that before people starting telling me this.**

* * *

**Abandoned Subway Station**

**Alistair**

"The last 3 years, I have spent a lot of time attacking research facilities," Alistair said as he got off the couch and stood up, "collecting blueprints, data, and information."

"You're building something?" Moka asked, still sitting on the left side of the couch.

Alistair walked over to a small table sitting next to the television set, and picked up a laptop. He opened it up revealing huge amounts of blueprints and designs on the screen. "Indeed, overseas I have a few kidnapped scientists putting it together for me. It's nearly finished, only one critical piece of data remains."

"I'm guessing that's where I come in."

"It is," Alistair said with his back turned, "I need a large extract of your demonic aura."

"Huh? You could have just asked if that was all you wanted from me." Moka rolled up one of her sleeves, "Here, just take a syringe, get a sample of my blood, and we can forget all about this." She seemed quite desperate by the sound of her voice.

"Unfortunately it isn't that simple, your energy would dissipate from a blood sample over time." Alistair still had his back turned, he didn't need to look at Moka to see her. "The only way for this to work is for me to 'borrow' energy when you're in your unsealed state."

"But that still doesn't sound so bad…"

"It doesn't? What if I added that it would cripple you for life if not kill you?"

Moka froze. "How? Vampires lose and replenish their demonic energy all the time."

"But they are never completely without it, otherwise their body's internal functions would be thrown out of balance. It's why water is so fatal, the purifying properties it has disrupts demonic energy."

"Oh…"

"I'm taking a large portion of what helps keep your blood from killing you from the inside. Although it's not a chemical process, you could say that vampire blood without demonic energy acts like an acid for a short time."

Moka seemed to understand now, Alistair really was planning to kill her, but not for the reason she originally thought. "Um… just out of curiosity, what does your device do?"

Alistair was about to answer her, but the door to the spacious subway station was suddenly sliced in half.

Alistair didn't turn his head, but he was still able to 'see' nonetheless. He felt Akuha and Tsukune rush into the room, both their eyes primarily focused onto Moka.

Tsukune gave the impression that he was pleased to see Moka unharmed, but Akuha's reaction seemed to be much more complex. Rather than being happy to see Moka or furious to see Alistair, she just looked shocked. The sight of her own sister in her sealed state just seemed to spook her beyond belief.

"I wonder what she's thinking right now," Alistair thought privately, "Have they really been separated for that long? Is this the first time she's seen Moka in her sealed state? Does she have trouble recognizing her?" He could only guess the reason for why her reaction held so much surprise.

Moka also appeared to be very stunned, "N…Nee-sama?" she said as she cleared her eyes, "Is that you?" Alistair could imagine that she was wondering if she was hallucinating.

Akuha looked over at Tsukune, "Go see if Moka is alright," she said as she turned to face Alistair, "I'll handle this."

Alistair slowly walked away from Moka, allowing Tsukune to move past him. Both the hooded man and the vampire dressed in black began a standoff in the center of the large concrete room.

XXX

**Moka**

Moka still sat on the couch as she had been, considering the situation. Alistair had treated her well despite planning to kill her later. "I think I finally understand you Alistair." She said in silence.

"Moka? Are you alight?" Tsukune asked as he came running up to her.

Moka snapped out of her deep thought. "Tsukune!" she was glad to see him, but also scared for him. "You shouldn't have come down here," she said as she hugged him, "you have no idea what Alistair is capable of!" Being this close to Tsukune made her feel the urge to drink some of his blood. She had to fight it, as this was no time to satisfy a mere thirst.

"What did he do to you?" Tsukune said as he grabbed her by the shoulders, "Are you hurt?"

"Don't worry. He treated me rather well."

Tsukune made a confused look, "What? But he kidnapped you."

Moka looked back over at Alistair, at thought privately. "I understand you, Alistair. You're mind was destroyed, but you can still feel. You feel guilt over hurting me to get what you're after."

XXX

**Akuha**

Akuha could still feel demonic energy from Moka, but it was jarred up inside her. It was like her energy was asleep, and none of it radiated around her. This was probably due to the seal Tsukune mentioned earlier.

"So this is how it's going to be then, Black Devil?" Nightcry asked quietly, so that only Akuha could hear him. "Fight now, reunion later?"

As much as Akuha wanted to speak to Moka, it would have to wait. "I'd rather kill you and get Moka to safety first." Akuha extended both arms out, taking a Kung Fu stance, "It's obvious now that you've been after her from the start." Her guess on who Nightcry's target was wasn't too far off. It wasn't Tsukune, but it was indeed someone that Akuha cared for.

Akuha's black necklace glittered while Nightcry adjusted his headband. They began to circle each other slowly.

"Aren't you curious as to why I apprehended Moka in the first place?" Nightcry asked.

"I don't give a damn," Akuha said unpleasantly. She was too focused on cutting off Nightcry's head to worry about what he was planning. His plans wouldn't matter if he were dead anyways. "I won't allow anyone to threaten Moka!"

"Fighting on someone else's behalf? How very noble of you." Large amounts of energy surrounded both of Nightcry's arms, going from his hands to his elbows. Incredibly dense material formed, changing his fists to the likeness of large round mallets. "You and I… were not so different. We're both liars, we're both horrific killers, and we're both disconnected from our loved ones for it."

Akuha felt surprised by how much Nightcry knew about her. "What exactly do you _not_ know about me?"

Nightcry forced himself a smile. "Here's something I don't know. When do you plan to stop lying to Moka about what you do?"

Akuha felt a surge of rage.

XXX

**Alistair**

"I got to be careful," he quietly reminded himself, "that Moon Blade attack of hers will carve me up if it hits."

Right on queue, The Black Devil attempted to slice Alistair apart with the Jigen-Tou technique. Flurries of Jigen-Tou slashes were made, each attack barley missing. Despite Alistair's hammer-fists putting on over 10,000 pounds, he jumped and dodged from side to side like a lightning bolt.

Alistair jumped behind a support pillar and put his back against it. He wasn't going to win if things keep up like this. "When I retreated last night, I may as well had jumped out and told her that I had no way to defend from the Jigen-Tou technique." He ducked when the pillar was suddenly split horizontally, causing the top half to fall over. "That wasn't a bright move I made, not that it would stop her from trying it now anyways."

The Black Devil leaped over what was left of the pillar and slashed again.

Alistair rolled aside to avoid the attack and leaped away again. He knew he needed to take the offense at some point, but it was too dangerous to try it head on. There seemed to be a short pause between each of The Black Devil's attacks, and it would be a good idea to try to take advantage of them.

Immediately after the next Jigen-Tou was dodged, Alistair kicked off of a nearby wall and jettisoned himself straight at his adversary. He pointed his right fist forward, flying at her with the likeness of Superman. "I used to love watching that on TV as a kid…"

XXX

**Akuha**

Things were looking good at first, as Akuha had complete control over the battle. Suddenly to her surprise, Nightcry came flying at her like a rocket with his fist extended.

Nightcry wasn't aiming for Akuha's face, but instead slammed his hammer-like fist downward at Akuha's hands. While Griggs and Sheckley were very high-class monsters, they were beaten easily due to being exceptionally dim-witted. Nightcry however was no fool.

"Arrrgh!" Akuha screamed in pain as her hands were damaged. Nightcry then tried to hit her again, but Akuha jumped away with a no-handed cartwheel at the last second.

After landing, she took a look at her hands. Her fingers were nearly broken. They would probably fully heal, but not for a few hours. "I won't be able to use the Jigen-Tou technique like this." Her arm movements needed to be perfect to get it to work.

Now that Nightcry had control over the fight, he ran forward with both fists raised above his head, trying to smash her like a hammer to a nail.

Akuha resorted to using her legs instead. She couldn't pull off many fancy techniques when fighting like this, but her legs were still more powerful than her arms. She side-kicked Nightcry hard, but it did nothing beyond knocking him back.

Nightcry tried to punch at Akuha again. While he could dodge Akuha's Jigen-Tou attack, he wasn't fast enough to hit her. The hammer-fists sure did pack a punch, but they weighed him down.

Akuha jumped forward and rammed both feet against Nightcry's face, sending him crashing straight into the wall behind him.

If Nightcry was capable of getting angry, he probably was right now. Every single overhead light in the subway station all suddenly shattered at once, instantly turning the entire room pitch black.

While Akuha couldn't see as well, she wasn't any less aware of her surroundings. Nightcry's demonic energy grew much stronger, not a good thing, but he was much easier to keep track of now. She could also feel out all the objects in the room through the vibrations moving through the ground. She was anything but blind.

Nightcry suddenly changed the energy surrounding his arms again, changing them both into long tentacles. Both tentacles lashed out with less force, but far greater speed than the hammer-fists.

Akuha felt the tentacles smash against her right hip, sending her colliding into the wall. The tentacles lashed at her again, this time trying to impale her. She quickly strafed to the side and charged straight at Nightcry for high-kick to the center of his chest. The force of the attack knocked him off his feet. Akuha then yanked one of his tentacles to pull him back and kick him away again.

Akuha's fingers may have been slightly crushed, but punching and gripping things were still no problem. She swung Nightcry by his own tentacle, and threw him right into the concrete floor with a loud smash.

Nightcry got back up, and his hands jolted. Both tentacles suddenly grew countless sharp spikes all over them. Grabbing them was no longer an option.

As Nightcry's right tentacle shot forward for a thrust, Akuha stomped onto the ground to loosen a piece of concrete. She let the tentacle stab into the lump of concrete to stop it, but then the other tentacle came from the side and smacked her.

As Akuha black-flipped through the air, she felt the onyx necklace that she treasured slip right off her neck.

XXX

**Alistair**

Even though it was pitch-dark, Alistair could still see everything as clear as day. He saw The Black Devil's necklace falling to the ground, and so he quickly caught it in midair with his tentacle. His arm then changed back to normal as he held it.

The Black Devil flipped and landed, taking another Kung Fu stance. She looked down at where her necklace should have been and noticed it was gone. "Wha… where did it go?" She looked over at Alistair and saw that he was dangling it from his hand.

"You want it back?" Alistair said as he looked at the onyx necklace. The Black Devil didn't reply, instead she just made a heated look, probably expecting him to crush the necklace. Alistair however was not mocking her. He knew that his opponent deeply treasured the necklace, and so he threw it back to her.

The Black Devil extended her arm out to catch the necklace. "Just like that?" she asked as it lay on her open palm.

"I do not hate you, Black Devil. I have no reason to." Alistair said calmly, "While I kill those who stand in my way, there's only one kind of person that I despise, whether they be human or Yōkai."

"And that would be?"

Alistair thought of the conceited bikers he killed in Jamison's bar, he thought of the SSE, he thought of himself. "Those whom are selfish. Those that seek only personal power." While he wasn't after power, he was still fighting on his own behalf, and someone else would pay the price. Despite knowing that he shouldn't be able to feel emotion, it was as if he was ashamed.

"So why am I not on your naughty list?" The Black Devil asked, "If you know so much about me, then…"

"7 years ago, you choose your sister over obtaining more power." Alistair wasn't there of course, but through the use of his energy manipulation power, he could faintly read the thoughts of other high-energy Yōkai. "That was a selfless decision you made."

Akuha stuffed the necklace into her pocket, not wanting to worry about losing it again. "Well… I see that I've misjudged you, Nightcry."

"My name is Alistair…"

The look of hate disappeared from Akuha's face. "And my name is Akuha…" She looked back at Moka, who was unharmed. "You didn't hurt her, do I smell regret?"

Alistair nodded, "I do not enjoy this at all." He jolted more of his accumulated energy through his body. His left arm remained normal, but his right arm changed again. It grew into an elongated double-ended blade from his elbow downward, turning his arm into a giant razor sharp cutting machine. "But I've made my decision, and I'm going through with it until the end."

XXX

**Tsukune  
**

It took a while to get used to the dark, but both Tsukune and Moka could now properly see the brawl occurring before them.

Nightcry swung his arm-blade fancily at Akuha as she avoided the attacks. Tsukune's human eyes could hardly keep up with their incredibly fast movements.

Moka pulled on Tsukune's arm. "Come on, take my Rosario off. We have to help Akuha."

In spite of what Moka was asking for, Tsukune could sense the panic in her voice. Like Tsukune, she was compelled to act when someone else was in danger. Unlike Tsukune, she still felt fear at the same time. "No, I promised her that I wouldn't let either of us interfere, we have to let her handle-" Tsukune was cut off mid-sentence when he fully grasped what Moka's request was. "Wait a minute, when did I tell you what her name was?"

"You never did. I already knew-" she was interrupted when Akuha let out a cry of pain, getting hacked along her shoulder. "Now's not the time, please just pull this Rosario off!"

Tsukune felt puzzled. For Moka to have already met Akuha in the past, it just seemed so unlikely. Still, vampires weren't very great in number and were solitary. With that in mind, maybe it was believable that they had met before. "But I met her too." Tsukune thought quietly, "Akuha travels around the world so rapidly, yet Moka and I have both met her separately. This certainly is a small world." He decided to leave any questions he had for later.

XXX

**Alistair**

Alistair swung his arm-blade again and again, but Akuha just kept dodging. Sure he had cut her three times now, but she delivered many powerful blows in return. Alistair knew he was taking far more damage than Akuha was.

Alistair was knocked back by an elbow strike, slamming against the ceiling and then falling to the ground. "This girl is too well trained. She's _brutal_." he thought, "Just keeping up with her is pushing me to my limit." He stood up and reverted his right arm back to normal. "That settles it, I'm no match for her like this." He grasped his headband, and began to take it off.

Alistair felt an unspeakable amount of demonic energy overflow his body. This time his entire body changed, being completely shrouded in the same kind of black material that his hammer-fists were made from. He became quite a bit larger, and was covered in a black armor-like shell from head to toe. Black mist generated out of his eye sockets.

(_Profile page. Picture under 'Alistair'._)

As Alistair put the headband into a morphed pocket on his arm, he remembered when his mother saw him like this. She had screamed in terror, unable to recognize him. He knew he should have felt disheartened, but instead he felt nothing. Through memory, he knew that he didn't like the sight of his mother scared like that, and so he fled, never to see her again.

Akuha took a step back, frightened like Alistair's Mother was. This change was far more extreme than the earlier ones.

Moka and Tsukune would be no problem even with his headband on. Akuha however was completely different. "I'm taking an awful risk with this move," Alistair thought again, "but it didn't look like I was going to win anyways." He released a large shock wave of energy out in all directions.

"What kind of monster are you!" Akuha yelled.

Alistair moved too fast for even Akuha to keep track, punching her right in the cheek sending her flying. Before she even slammed into the wall, Alistair hit her again, sending her flying the other direction.

Akuha slid on the ground and somersaulted to get up quickly. She looked around in panic as Alistair moved faster than her reflexes could respond. Alistair shot right by her, dodging her attempt at a punch, and then side-kicking her in back. As she flew back, she pushed off the ground and propelled herself back at Alistair, trying an immediate counter attack. Alistair caught both of her fists, and gripped them as hard as he could. Akuha began to let out a cry of pain as she felt her hands being crushed, falling onto her knees.

Out of desperation, Akuha jumped up and flexibly kicked Alistair right in the throat. Alistair felt his hold over her hands slip, but then ducked under her next kick, and delivered an uppercut to her stomach. She stumbled backwards, coughing and disoriented.

Alistair dived forward and pounded her with worse brutality than even Dythe had shown. Punching, kicking, body slamming, elbowing, and head butting her too fast and powerfully.

As Akuha tumbled away, Alistair suddenly felt an enormous surge of pain, causing him to collapse to his knees. A number of his blood veins on his right arm all popped at once, and it felt like steam was coming out of his skin by how much his body was heating up. His ability to produce energy was too overpowered and out-of-control, another miscalculation that the SSE scientists had made. He would destroy himself if he weren't careful, absorbing this much energy and using it on such a grand scale.

Despite how hard Akuha was beaten, she slowly stood back up, and took another Kung Fu stance.

"Are you kidding me?" Alistair whispered to himself, "Damn this girl is _tough_. So much for trying to settle this quickly." He felt another scorch of pain through his body, "Taking off the power limiter, my headband, really does a number on my body." He stood up and readied himself again. "Just ignore the pain."

XXX

**Akuha**

Although she didn't show it, Akuha was hardly able to continue _standing_. Alistair's energy had suddenly skyrocketed off the charts, and the fight just became hopeless. He was stronger and faster than even Dythe was, and to make things worse, he was also very intelligent.

Akuha looked around, searching for anything that she could use to turn the tide of the battle. A dirty trick, a weakness, anything?

Alistair's right arm took the likeness of a massive tentacle and lashed out, this time with far more power behind it. It broke the sound barrier as it sped forward, blowing the dirt on the ground aside as it went.

Akuha suddenly felt herself get tackled from the side. "Akuha!" Tsukune in his Ghoul-form shouted as he pushed her out of the tentacle's path. Simultaneously, an unsealed Moka power-kicked Alistair into the concrete wall.

"Don't think that you can take all the fighting for yourself." Inner Moka said in a lively tone. She then turned to look towards Akuha, "It's been seven long years, Nee-Sama."

Akuha completely forget about the pain she felt from her wounds. "Now _that's_ the Moka I remember," she thought privately to herself, "she certainly has grown over these last few years." Her heart abruptly began to race, "So cute! She's become incredibly beautiful!"

XXX

**Alistair  
**

Alistair climbed out from the hole in the wall, facing his opponents. From left to right stood Tsukune, Akuha and Moka, a ghoul and two vampires. "So it's three on one eh? This won't be a problem." The likelihood of his own energy backfiring was still the greater threat, but more opponents meant he had to expend more energy before this fight was over.

Akuha quickly conversed with the other two, apparently giving them instructions for a plan she thought up. Alistair braced himself for anything.

Akuha stood where she was and inhaled, while both Moka and Tsukune ran forward with their hands on their ears. Akuha suddenly let out a thunderous scream, not in pain or fury, but as some kind of bizarre war cry.

"Wh… what the hell is she doing?" Alistair wondered as he felt his ears ring. If there had been any glass in the room, it would have shattered instantly.

Moka and Tsukune both charged forward side-by-side, attempting to kick Alistair as their ears were covered. In response, Alistair elbowed them both, knocking them away. As Moka and Tsukune fell back, Akuha finally stopped screaming.

Alistair looked over at his three opponents, "What kind of freaky trick did they just try to pull on me?"

Akuha whispered something to herself. Alistair was good at reading lips, and could tell she said something that sounded like 'so it's not sound'. After conversing with each other again, Moka and Tsukune tried another attack. Akuha closed her eyes and began to concentrate. Instead of screaming at top of her lungs again, her demonic aura began to radiate wildly.

"Now what is she trying?" Alistair wondered, "Radiating her energy like that is going to cause her to lose some of it."

Moka and Tsukune charged again quickly. Compared to Alistair their movements were still sluggish, but something about them seemed much different. No, _everything_ around him was different. The image of the entire subway station began to stretch, bend, and twist like jelly. Moka and Tsukune suddenly looked like blobs, and it became impossible to tell how far away they were.

Alistair felt himself get hit hard twice.

"It worked! He sees using energy!" Tsukune shouted.

Alistair finally realized what his enemies were trying to do. Akuha knew that Alistair saw the world differently, but didn't know how. She must have noticed that he used some kind of sonar, hence the screaming earlier. "I get it. They're conducting experiments to figure out how I perceive my surroundings."

XXX

**Inner Moka**

"Oh great…" Moka said, "Way to blurt out what we're trying to do, Tsukune!" Tsukune has never been much of a fighter. He never thought about how any information he readily gave away could be used again him. It was just one of his many bad qualities that came with being so naïve.

"Uh… sorry. I didn't mean it." Tsukune said as he changed back to his human form. He needed a brief moment of rest to keep from destroying himself.

"So I'm guessing Tsuk does this a lot?" Akuha asked Moka as she continued releasing bursts of her own energy.

At the other side of the subway station, Alistair stood back up, both of his arms taking a blade-form.

"Forget it, we'll have to save the chit-chat for later!" Akuha yelled, "I don't know how much longer I can keep emitting energy like this. You two need to take him down _now_!"

Moka nodded and shot onward like a lightning bolt, boldly striking Alistair with her knee. Alistair tried to swing his arm-blades at her, but missed due to his senses being screwed up. Moka kicked and kneed him again and again, before jumping back and noticing the bruises she was getting on her legs. "Wow, that shell he's covered with is certainly durable."

Through physically feeling Moka's blows, Alistair swung his right arm in Moka's direction. His attack was cut short when Tsukune leaped forward and punched him across the face.

"Tsukune is not much of a fighter." Moka thought, "Instead, it's in his nature to protect others." Trying to keep up the momentum, both she and Tsukune side-kicked Alistair at once.

Alistair began to swing his arm-blades around wildly, still completely blinded. Both Moka and Tsukune began beating on him with all the punches and kicks they could spare. The black shell like armored began to crack little by little.

"I don't enjoy this ether Alistair," Moka thought, "but I've made my decision as well. I'd prefer to keep the life that I've been given."

XXX

**Alistair**

The tables have been turned and Alistair was getting beaten. The energy bursts Akuha was constantly discharging conflicted with his own, causing everything around him to seem deformed and confusing. Moka and Tsukune continued hitting him as hard as they could, causing the solid shell surrounding his body to begin to crack apart.

Alistair would be finished if he didn't do something quick. He had no way to detect his enemies, but that didn't mean he couldn't hit them. He ignited a colossal amount of energy, causing millions of fibrous tentacles to erupt from all over his body and spread out in every direction.

It took Moka and Tsukune by surprise, striking them both and damaging them badly. Even though it was only one hit, it was so powerful that they were unable to get back up.

Alistair felt another discharge of energy. Without a doubt, Akuha was in the center of where it came from. Alistair dashed at her with his blades ready. At the strength Akuha was at now, only one attack was more than enough to finish her off.

The blood veins in both of Alistair's legs suddenly all popped, causing him to plummet to the ground. His energy level was going critical and he felt himself getting eating up by his own power. He felt his right arm began to dissolve away into the darkness. He had pushed his body beyond its limits.

XXX

**9 Years Ago – America**

A ten-year-old Alistair sat on the carpet, watching Star Wars on the small television set yet again.

"Soon will I rest, yes, forever sleep," Yoda said as he pulled a sheet over himself, "Earned it I have."

Luke couldn't believe that someone as strong with the force as Yoda was saying his final goodbyes. "Master Yoda, you can't die." He said.

"Ah, strong am I with the Force, but not that strong. Twilight is upon me, and soon, night must fall. That is the way of things, the way of the Force."

Alistair understood what Yoda meant; it was the way of life. Even the greatest of men don't live forever. Eventually we all must face our time.

"Remember, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force." Yoda said with his eyes shut, "But beware… anger, fear, aggression, the dark side are they." He made a brief cough, "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."

The warning Yoda gave was symbolic of a real-life man making selfish decisions, allowing them taking over his life as a result.

"Pass on what you have learned, Luke." Yoda then slowly died.

XXX

**Present Time – Underground Subway**

Alistair's body started to dissolve into the darkness around him, slowly fading away. "Beware of anger, fear, and aggression." He thought of his decision to sacrifice Moka for his own egotistical gains. "They will dominate your existence." This was the result he was left with.

Akuha walked over to him, the look of grief spread across her face.

Alistair stretched what was left of his left arm towards her, "Learn from my mistakes, Akuha." He looked over at Tsukune who was moaning in pain, "Don't make the same selfish choice I made, it will destroy you."

Akuha is the night sky… Alistair is complete darkness. Both of them had committed countless horrible acts, yet they were both capable of caring for someone else. A sister, a mother. All Akuha wanted was to care for someone and be cared about in return. All Alistair wanted was to feel emotion again.

The device that Alistair was making would neutralize his modified vampire blood, using a special property from the more-dominant Shinso energy. He would no longer have been a lifeless empty shell… he would be alive again.

The shell covering Alistair's face faded away, revealing that a small tear was flowing down his cheek. He began to slowly disappear.

He now became one with the darkness, just like Yoda had become one with the Force.

XXX

**Akuha**

Akuha watched as Alistair completely disappeared, all that was left was his red headband. What did he mean by not making the same selfish choice? It seemed like he wanted to pass on what he had learned.

"He's… he's gone?" Tsukune said as he walked over.

Akuha looked down at the spot Alistair faded away on. "Yeah… it seems so." It was strange, despite the thousands of other people Akuha had killed in the past, this was the first time she actually felt something for someone else's death. How ironic, Alistair was the most powerful opponent she had ever faced, and he had threatened Moka. Still, Akuha felt something… she didn't know what it was.

Akuha took a brief step backwards and felt her heel hit something furry. A grunt of pain was heard as she turned to look at what it was.

"Ouch!" The upper half of Sheckley barked from the ground, "Isn't it enough that you cut me in half?"

Akuha was tired of fighting for today, and so she decided to ignore Sheckley. It didn't seem like he was going to hurt anyone in the condition he was in anyway.

The entire subway station was practically painted in craters and cracks. "Lets get out of this place," Moka said as she picked her Rosario up from the ground, "we have a lot to talk about."

XXX

To be continued in next chapter.

* * *

**I wish I could see this whole fight animated**.

**I never planned to have Sheckley die from the start. It's just like Griggs, where we didn't find out he was still alive until the interrogation scene. We will see them both again later, but not as villains anymore.**

**Tell me if these names sound alike: Alistair, Alex Mercer, Altair… and all these guys have hoods!**

**There is a lot of confusion regarding Akuha's name. People are spelling her name without the 'H' more often now, and even the Wiki has just recently made that change. Thing is, this website currently still spells her name with an 'H' and so did the Wiki back when I first started this story. I'm just going to stick with what I've been using.**

**Special thanks goes to Cooking Samurai and GrrDraxin for reasons-you-already-know.**


	12. Chpt 12: Incognito

**As the events in Volume 2 chapter 33 never happened, Moka's memories weren't suppressed.**

* * *

**Abandoned Subway Station**

As Moka's seal was reattached, a pink color flowed through her white hair like water spreading through paper. Her eyes no longer resembled a snake's, and changed to an emerald color.

"Woah…" Akuha mumbled. Moka looked just like a human, but what felt far more bothersome was her uncanny resemblance to her mother.

"Aren't you going to kill me?" An ominous voice echoed.

When Akuha looked at sealed-Moka, she didn't see any traces of her sister, just someone she once tried to kill. Between the damage she had taken and the memory of Akasha rushing back to her, she felt herself begin to tip over and fall backwards. Tsukune quickly rushed over and caught her.

"Nee-sama!" Moka yelled. She shouted the same way Akuha remembered she did seven years ago.

"Here," Tsukune said as he lowered his shirt collar, "drink some of my blood Akuha, it'll make you feel better."

Akuha slowly wrapped her arms around Tsukune's upper body and brought her mouth near the side of his neck. Before taking a bite, she slowly looked over at a concerned-looking Moka again. It didn't look like Moka, it didn't feel like Moka, but it was her. "Since when did Moka get that Rosary to seal her own powers away?" Akuha thought silently. Other memories began to flood back, ones that she would have preferred not to remember. "It was just after Moka's tenth birthday party, right before she left, when I retrieved that same Rosary for her."

"Is there something wrong, Nee-sama?" Moka asked.

Tsukune looked back and forth from Akuha to Moka, and noticed the mystified stare Akuha was casting. "Oh, this must be the first time you've seen Moka in her sealed form right?" he asked Akuha.

"Uh… yeah." Akuha nodded, "It just took me by surprise." Not true, she did not feel surprised. She had seen countless other monsters taking human disguises.

"Go on, just take a bit of my blood," Tsukune offered again, "you were hurt the most by far. "

Without another word, Akuha bit onto Tsukune's neck. "Mmmmm…" she let out deep moan of pleasure. Any care or worry just disappeared at the taste of Tsukune's delicious blood.

Just a moment after Akuha finished her drink, Moka came over and gave her a strong hug. Somehow it didn't feel like a grand reunion.

XXX

**West Side of Town**

A bit of time passed as the three of them walked along the sidewalk back to Tsukune's house. Akuha explained to Moka the same story she had been giving earlier, that she was just passing through and happened to notice the holy lock on Tsukune's wrist. For some reason, lying to Moka didn't make Akuha feel bad at all. When she saw Inner Moka during the fight earlier, her heart was pounding. When she looked at Outer Moka right now, it was just like looking at a stranger.

"Have Kokoa or Kahlua seen Moka like this yet?" Akuha thought to herself, "What would they think about her?"

Akuha felt the urge to just tear Moka's rosary clear off and break it. She didn't hate sealed-Moka, but right now Akuha wanted to see her _real_ sister more than anything in the world. Still, she took comfort knowing that her sister was safe, and was what mattered most.

"Wow, isn't this a stroke of luck?" Tsukune said, "I happen to know your little sister from school." Not a single thought crossed his mind about how unlikely the situation was. He just accepted things as they were, and trusted that what Akuha had told him was true. After all, Akuha was legitimately surprised by Moka's presence in this town.

"There aren't very many Yōkai schools in the world," Akuha said as they continued to stroll along, "usually its just one or two per country. Some larger countries like China have dozens though."

"I guess it's not so weird when considering everything else that's happened to me."

"What do you mean, Tsuk?"

"Well it seems like ever since I started Yōkai Academy, I've been finding myself in some sort of trouble _at __least_ once a week."

Akuha had to fight down a laugh. She had noticed a severe increase in combat ever since meeting Tsukune. "I think the last few days are living proof of that…" she said. He was indeed a magnet for trouble. Could that have something to do with her mission? "Any particular reason why so many monsters keep giving you trouble?"

Tsukune kept walking, thinking hard, but couldn't say anything.

"It's because he's human," Moka said. She folded her arms and put her right index finger to her chin, thinking about it. "Well actually, that's only the cause less than half the time."

"Well isn't there something abnormal about Tsukune?" Akuha asked. "Besides being human I mean."

Tsukune and Moka shrugged.

"Do you have anything a monster may want? Are you related to some famous Yōkai hunter? Anything?"

Tsukune and Moka just looked at each other as they continued walked, hoping that the other would say something. Neither of them could think of anything.

"What about that?" Akuha glanced at Moka's rosary, "Tsuk, you said earlier that you're the only one who can remove it."

"As far as we know…" Tsukune said as the three of them stopped before a crosswalk at an intersection. Cars were driving across the road where they were going to cross. "But I don't know why, I don't know how the seal works. If I knew, I would tell you."

Akuha thought silently, "I bet you would."

All the cars passed by and the three of them continued walking.

Akuha knew by now that Tsukune wouldn't hide anything from someone he _thought_ was a friend. Feeling satisfied, Akuha diverted her attention to a personal matter. "One other thing, how did the two of you meet and what's your relationship?" she gulped, "Are you two… dating?"

Tsukune scratched his head nervously. "Well… uh, I…"

Moka began to show a very noticeable blush. "Tsukune… Tsukune was my first…"

"'First' what?" Akuha asked, as she thought of the possibilities, "_No_… Moka you don't actually mean that you… "

"No! Of course not!" Moka said quickly, "I mean that he was…"

Akuha frowned. This girl before her doesn't seem to act anything like the Moka she remembered. Moka didn't act so tranquil, she wasn't shy, and she didn't blush often. "Moka, what are you to Tsukune?" she asked out loud.

"Huh?" Moka seemed confused.

"It's a simple question. What are you to Tsukune?" Akuha remembered how the other girls had answered this same question: his lover, his concubine, his wife. Akuha felt frightened by what may have become of her sister. Was she reduced to being as vulgar as the other girls?

"I'm his friend." Moka said.

Akuha felt her eye's light up. "Friend?" That was all? She let out a sigh of relief and smiled.

"Tsukune was the very first friend I ever made." Moka said warmly, "In the past I've never had anyone I could turn to." She looked over at Akuha, "Well, save for family of course. I trust you too."

Akuha flinched at the word 'trust'.

XXX

**Tsukune's House**

"I swear! I don't know where he is!" Yukari yelled in panic.

"Tsukune suddenly disappears, and you expect us to believe that you had nothing to do with it?" Kurumu said with an angry look on her face.

"Who else could it have been?" Mizore asked in a stoic tone, "If it had been me, I would be long gone from here."

"Couldn't it have been that other vampire? She's gone too." Yukari said, "Akuma… Aqua… or whatever her name was."

"Akuha?" Kurumu asked the little witch, "Of course, I totally forgot about her!" Just a few hours ago, the vampire had confessed that she had feelings for Tsukune as well. It appears that today she was getting a head start.

"Moka is missing too you know." Yukari said, "Am I the only one here who remembers that?"

"Of course we remember," Mizore said, "so what?"

"What do you mean by 'so what?'" Yukari didn't have a lot of common sense, nor did she have people-skills, but she could still think fairly well, "Don't you think that Tsukune may have brought the other vampire with him to go look for Moka?"

"Tsukune would have told us if he were going anywhere." Kurumu said. She knew that Tsukune didn't like making others worry. "Besides, how would he know where to look anyways?"

"Hey everyone!" Moka said as she came in through the door.

Kurumu, Mizore, and Yukari turned towards Moka, all relieved to see that she was well. While they were rivals for Tsukune's affections, they still were friends, especially when in life threatening situations like the previous night.

Needless to say, Yukari looked the happiest to see Moka. "You're alright!" she squealed as she jumped off the ground and hugged her.

Just behind Moka, Akuha and Tsukune entered the room.

Kurumu ran forward, bumping Akuha aside, and grabbed hold of Tsukune. She began to smother his face with her oversized breasts. "Why didn't you tell us you were going somewhere? I was so worried about you!"

Tsukune tried to say something, but it only came out as a muffled noise.

"Do you do this to Tsuk often?" Akuha asked in an irritated tone.

Kurumu casted a glare at Akuha. "Lovers are supposed to embrace each other. Someone like you wouldn't understand."

"Wouldn't understand? Well… you're right about that."

Kurumu looked back at Tsukune, who freed himself to breath again. His face was incredibly white. "Something wrong Tsukune? I've held you much longer before and you didn't look anywhere near as pale."

"I feel really dizzy right now." Tsukune said, "Akuha got hurt pretty bad, so I let her have a lot of my blood. Don't worry, I'll be fine." He walked over to the couch in front of the television and sat down.

Kurumu turned her attention over to Akuha. "What is that smell?" she said as she poked Akuha on the shoulder.

Akuha tried to clenge her fists, but couldn't. Fortunately for Kurumu, Akuha was just too tired for any unnecessary fights. Neither Moka nor Tsukune would approve of it anyways.

"You're clothes are so filthy." Kurumu said. Akuha's clothes weren't torn, but extremely dirty. The subway she fought in was very grimy after all. "When's that last time you bathed anyways?"

A high-ranking Fairy Tale member could afford to bathe quite often, and that's exactly what Akuha normally did. However, she never anticipated that she would be staying here for over a week. "Not in a while," she answered, "I generally take one everyday, but I need a special kind of herb to dilute the water. I don't have any at the moment."

"I brought a bunch with me!" Moka chirped happily, "I packed them with me just in case. They're in my bag upstairs."

Akuha felt taken aback by the cheerful, sweet behavior Moka was showing. When her powers were sealed off, her personality changed so drastically. She was the exact opposite of the sister Akuha cared for.

XXX

While in the bathroom, Akuha turned the faucet on the tub and let it begin to fill with water. She usually took showers back at headquarters, using her own personal bathroom that had all it's water already diluted, but she didn't have a lot of options.

Akuha undid the pigtails that her hair was usually in, letting it all hang down on her shoulders. She then began emptying her pockets. All that she had stored away was her blue contact lenses, the onyx necklace, and Alistair's red headband. After placing the contact lenses aside, she looked for a long time at the other two items, one on each hand. While letting out a sigh, she finally placed them on a nearby shelf.

After the water was mixed with the herbs Moka lent her, Akuha stripped down and got into the warm bathtub.

(_The __mist __created __from __the __hot __water __blurs __out __any __'parts' __you __perverts._)

It was the most relaxing bath Akuha had ever felt. She had never before been so worn-out before taking one. "Ahhhhhh, that feels good…" she exhaled.

Some time passed as Akuha relaxed. A lot was on her mind. Strangely, her thoughts seemed to be centered on Alistair. Why? Alistair was the last person Akuha wanted to be thinking about. She would much rather want to think about Tsukune or Inner Moka. Still, she just couldn't get Alistair's last words out of her head.

"Learn from my mistakes, don't make the same selfish choice I made." Alistair had told her.

Just how much did Alistair know about Akuha's assignment here? Possibly even more than she did. Those last words sounded like a warning of what was to come.

From in the bathtub, Akuha looked back at the red headband sitting over on the shelf. She had to admit, even though Alistair was a powerful adversary, she strangely felt pity for him.

People are supposed to enjoy their favorite foods, they should look forward to free time on the weekends, and they should enjoy having a drink after a hard day's work. People should feel… they're supposed to grieve from the bottom of their hearts if a loved one is lost from them. Alistair could not do any of these.

"Just forget about him." Akuha said out loud, "He's gone now. I need to focus on the here-and-now."

XXX

After Akuha was finished she dried herself off, put on a new set of clothes, and placed her old outfit in the laundry. "Is this some kind of joke?" she said, looking down at what she was wearing. Her shirt was pink and her pants were bright yellow.

The five members of the Yōkai Academy newspaper club were still in the television room. Tsukune, Moka, and Kurumu each sat on the couch, Yukari sat on a cushioned rotating chair, and Mizore was lying on her side on the carpet. Batches of freshly made cookies were on the table in front of the couch. The television was on, showing an anime.

Akuha came into the room rather noisily. "Tsuk!"

Everyone nearly jumped at the sudden loud noise. "Huh?" Tsukune said as he looked over at Akuha, "What's wrong?"

"Well…" Akuha looked down at her shirt and pants, "I don't mean to be rude, but I don't really like this outfit." Despite always acting tomboyish, she was sensitive about what she wore. It just came with being a girl.

"Don't scare us like that please." Yukari said, "For a second, I thought those two bad men were back."

Akuha walked over and sat down on the only unoccupied seat left.

"I'm sorry," Tsukune said as he took a cookie from the table, "but the only other outfit that fits you is that blue and white one. I don't know what you did with it." He had to admit, Akuha looked pretty good in that. Pink and yellow on the other hand…

"Those colors look funny on you." Kurumu said. She looked as if she were going to laugh.

Even Moka had to agree. Between Akuha's dark hair, vampire eyes, and overall threatening look, pink and yellow _really _didn't fit her.

Tsukune made a gesture towards the steamy cookies on the table. "Would you like one?" he asked, "Kurumu just made them while you were in the shower."

Akuha brought her hand up, making a 'no-thanks' motion.

"Nee-sama is a very healthy eater." Moka said, "Rice, fruits, vegetables, and a bit of meat is all I've ever seen her eat."

A warm feeling passed through Akuha. Hearing Moka refer to the time they spent getting to know each other made her seem more like Akuha's real sister.

Yukari grabbed a cookie. "Kurumu is a really great chef!" she said in a cheerful tone, "You don't know what you're missing."

Akuha slowly grabbed a cookie. "Hmm… I guess one couldn't hurt." She took a bite. She had to admit that it had quite an exquisite taste, but it was still nowhere near as good as Tsukune's blood. "Damn, you weren't kidding." she said sounding impressed.

A minute passed by before Mizore suddenly popped up from behind the couch. "Are we going to sit around here all day? There's a whole town outside."

Tsukune, Moka, and Kurumu all nearly jumped in shock again. None of them had noticed that Mizore was creeping around.

Tsukune took a moment to collect himself. "You're right," he replied, "we can't just spend all our time indoors."

"Can we see the town's mall?" Moka asked excitedly.

"Alright, sure thing." Tsukune said kindly. He looked back over at Akuha as she finished her cookie. "Besides, we all agree that Akuha could use a new outfit right?"

XXX

**East side of town**

Griggs and Sheckley were hanging out near the entrance to the town's park while in their human forms, the same place as yesterday. The both of them were sitting on electric wheelchairs. Griggs was wrapped in bandages like a mummy, surrounding his entire body except for his eyes and mouth. Sheckley on the other hand had no legs and was wearing a baseball cap.

"This town is full of mean ladies!" Griggs shouted, "First my skeleton is shattered, then your legs are cut off, and now the boss is killed."

"Yeah, it sucks to be us doesn't it?" Sheckley said as he took his baseball cap off, "rest in peace boss… Nightcry… Alistair."

Griggs nodded. "I still remember that old comic book I had. The one that gave me the idea for his nickname."

"And I still think that 'Nightcry' was too generic."

"Who cares? I started calling him that, and it stuck."

A moment of silence passed between them as they thought about their fallen friend.

"Hey, hey." Sheckley said, "You remember that giant cheese monster you accidentally created? The one near the saloon we stayed at in Nicaragua."

"Ah yeah, Nightcry kicked it's ass, and then told us that it was the _last_ time he would clean up a mess we made."

Sheckley snapped his right hand with enthusiasm. "Oh and how about last Christmas? That time when all the mall Santas in town had their eggnog spiked?

"Good times, good times." Griggs made a quick laugh. "Do you remember that time when we annoyed the boss?"

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific, Griggs."

"I'm talking about that time with the bowflex machine, exploding chia pets, and peanut butter."

"Ouch… that one wasn't pretty. You remember what the boss said to us after that?"

"Oh yeah, 'Why do I put up with you guys?' Heh, good ol' Alistair."

"We'll miss 'em, that poor chum."

After they finished paying their respects, the both of them began to drive their wheelchairs away. They had enough of this town and wanted to finally return home.

XXX

**The Town Mall**

Immediately after entering the mall, Akuha insisted that the clothes store should be their first stop. Moka and Kurumu were eager to try on different fashions as well, and so they went straight to the nearest one.

Only while Akuha wore her blue contact lenses, she seemed to blend in with the other girls quite well.

"Don't worry Akuha," Kurumu said as all six of them entered a store, "I'll help you pick out something really nice."

"Well the sooner I get rid of this outfit, the better." Akuha said.

"Alright then, follow me." Kurumu began to walk over to another part of the store. Akuha followed after her while Moka and Yukari went the other way.

Mizore and Tsukune were left standing alone at the entrance. "It's just you and me now Tsukune." Mizore said. Tsukune however began to walk over in Moka's direction. Mizore sighed and tailed him.

XXX

Kurumu brought a bunch of outfits over to Akuha, who was sitting down on a chair in a changing room.

"Here, try some of them on." Kurumu said with a smile.

Akuha felt that Kurumu was acting a little too nice to her. "You're not trying to pull some kind of trick to embarrass me, are you?" she said as she looked down at the clothes she was given.

"Of course not," Kurumu said, "I would never deceive you. Straight to the face is my kind of approach."

Akuha put her hands on her hips. "I remember that you declared me your rival not long ago."

"Yes, I have. I've already done the same with the other three girls."

"So why are you being so nice? We're supposed to be enemies."

Kurumu shrugged. "Enemies can still show respect to each other can't they?"

Akuha raised an eyebrow. The criminal underworld was packed with people that would go any lengths to get what they wanted, and she had long since adapted to this mindset. Showing and receiving respect with a foe wasn't something she saw very often.

"Here, try this on." Kurumu said as she held up a shirt and high-waisted skirt.

Akuha accepted the clothes. While she initially didn't like Kurumu, the succubus seemed to treat her love-rivals like sisters. She wanted to win Tsukune's affections without any schemes or tricks. "She fights fair huh?" Akuha thought, "Where have people like that been all my life?"

XXX

After some time passed, all the girls had bought plenty of clothes. Akuha only bought 3 sets, none of which were very expensive. Moka paid for them, as she had the spare cash and insisted to anyways.

As well as the onyx necklace, Akuha was already wearing one of the three outfits that were purchased for her. It was a tight crimson shirt and a black skirt. Despite Kurumu's protest, Akuha liked this outfit the most due to the color combination. She was a girl of simple taste.

"Can we get something to eat?" Yukari asked, "All we've had were a few of Kurumu's cookies."

Tsukune checked his watch. "It's 1:00 PM and none of us have had lunch yet," he said, "alright, we may as well while we're here."

The six of them went and bought some food at one of the mall restaurants. Looking around, they found a seat at a rectangular table with benches at both of its longer sides. The two benches only seemed to have enough room for three people each.

The very second Tsukune sat down, Mizore and Kurumu immediately sat on both sides of him. Moka instead sat on the other side of the table, straight across from Tsukune. Yukari had no problem with sitting next to Moka, as she liked both her and Tsukune equally. Akuha took the last remaining seat next to Moka.

Kurumu, having a weakness for sweets, began to munch down on a cinnamon roll. Mizore on the other hand had ordered a blueberry slushie and Yukari dug into a loaf of melon bread. Tsukune was the only one who had a heavy lunch, that being a large sub sandwich.

"I need to make up for all the blood I lost…" Tsukune mumbled. Akuha had taken quite a bit more out of him than Moka ever did in any single meal.

"Can you blame her?" Moka said as she drank from a can of tomato juice. Below her was a tray of beef.

Akuha said nothing, and began to eat her own lunch. Unlike the others, her meal was quite underwhelming. It was a salad, packed with tons of cabbage and other vegetables.

"Now isn't this something?" Tsukune said, "The six of us, all very different kinds of people, having lunch together in the human world." Thankfully all the noise in the mall masked their conversation to just the table they were at.

"By different people, you mean different species right?" Yukari asked.

"Yeah." Tsukune said, "I hope that some day, Yōkai and humans can openly get along in both worlds. Just like we are now."

Moka, Kurumu, Yukari, and Mizore all nodded with a smile. Akuha however did not make any kind of motion.

"What do you think Akuha?" Tsukune asked.

"Huh?"

"Do you think Yōkai and humans can all co-exist just like this?"

Akuha froze for a moment. While she kept it to herself, the truth was that she primarily despised humans. "Tsuk," she began, "do you want me to be completely honest?

"Of course, speak what's on your mind." Tsukune said, "I wont hold anything against you. I'm well aware of that the Yōkai community is generally against this idea."

Akuha took a deep breath. "I'm not saying that it's a bad idea, but it's just impractical. Sure, everyone getting along is nice and all, but that's never going happen openly."

Tsukune took a more serious expression. Not angry, but just serious. "That's a very cynical view you have there."

"Cynical? Could it be that you're too optimistic." Akuha said as the newspaper club all looked at her. "The fact is that people will always value their own kind above others."

"That's not true." Moka said, "The group of us being friends is living proof of that."

"Well I didn't say there wasn't more to it than that. You've each known the other for a while." Akuha tried to think of a way to phrase it. "Look, if a vampire had to pick between saving the life of either another vampire or a werewolf, which one would he or she choose? Take out any other factor like how likable either of them are, and only weigh in their race. It's sad to say it, but the choice would more often be the other vampire."

Tsukune understood what she meant. There were many factors in how a person thought of someone else, and race was one of these. "Maybe that's true, but it's a wall that can be scaled."

"You really think so Tsuk?" Akuha didn't like being the pessimist, but she also didn't believe that Tsukune's philosophy was realistic. "How do you think your friends would have treated you if they knew you were human _before_ they got to know you?"

Tsukune just looked at her speechlessly. He couldn't say anything.

"Maybe there are those that _talk_ about such idealisms, but people don't widely think this way. They're just too scared of what they don't understand."

"Then they can understand. If humans had the chance to get to know Yōkai as I have, they would learn that they're not that different."

"Tsuk, if the existence of Yōkai was made public to the world, do you honestly believe that the initial response would be a peacefully one? There's a reason why Yōkai hide themselves."

"Well why _can't_ they react peacefully? There are people in this world that would want to do the right thing."

Akuha sighed for a moment. "The person, the individual would want peace. However, _people_ and communities are easily frightened. It's just too much for the world to take in."

"Then we do it slowly. The barrier can be broken little by little."

Akuha decided not to say anymore. It didn't seem like either of them was going to change the other's mind. "A world where humans and Yōkai can live together happily…" Akuha thought privately, "I wish that were possible, but it's just an over-idealistic fantasy."

"Can we talk about something else?" Kurumu asked. "This is starting to turn into an argument."

They changed the subject, and began to talk about animes and movies. Akuha didn't really join in on the conversation. She thought silently again, "If you've seen what I've seen, you wouldn't be so naive. The five of you have lived such innocent lives… when compared to me anyways."

XXX

The group of them hung out at the mall much longer than they intended. It was finally until sunset when they left. The sky outside had a beautiful golden glow, causing them to all stop and marvel at the view.

Tsukune slowly felt his shoulder fall against Moka's, whom was standing right next to him. As they looked off into the sunset, the both of them slowly turned their eyes towards each other.

"Moka…"

"Tsukune…"

They began to slowly bring their mouths together.

Kurumu suddenly interrupted them as she grabbed Tsukune's arm from the opposite side.

"What do you think you're doing, boob freak?" Mizore said as she came over and grabbed hold of Tsukune as well, "Hands off of my Tsukune."

"Don't leave me out!" Yukari cheered as she jumped up and grabbed onto Tsukune from behind.

The four girls began a painful tug-of-love on Tsukune, something that they did frequently back at Yōkai Academy.

Suddenly, Akuha actually _joined __in_, grabbing part of Tsukune's arm as well. All _five_ of the gorgeous-looking girls furiously pulled on him.

XXX

To be continued in next chapter...

* * *

**Consider this the end of "Season One".**

**Feel free to review a ton. The next chapter wont be posted for a while.**

* * *

**Extra Scene – Courtroom**

(_I __decided __to __add __this __scene __at __the __last __second. __It __only __took __15 __minutes __to __type __off __the __top __of __my __head. __Just __remember __that __it's __not __really __meant __to __be __funny, __but __don't __take __it __seriously __either._)

MrDrProfessor4 stood in the middle of the large courtroom, wearing his helghast armor, but with his arms bound together by shackles. Everything in the room was completely blacked out by how dark it was. There were however four blinding spotlights shining downwards. One over MrDrProfessor4, and one over each of the three judges that stood before him.

Judge Dredd slammed his huge hammer making a loud pounding noise. "Order! The court is now in session!" he said with a deep booming voice, "MrDrProfessor4, writer of the story 'Assassin'. You have been accused of focusing too much on villains and fight scenes, and not enough on romance or harem comedy."

"But that's only in chapters 10 and 11!" MrDrProfessor4 argued.

"True, you haven't done much of this yet," Dredd spoke, "but we've read ahead at what you've got in later chapters, and it takes these same problems _much_ further. Do you deny it?"

MrDrProfessor4 exhaled. "No your honor, I do not."

"Page 341, section D, paragraph 3 says that this gives us the jurisdiction to cancel you if you don't make changes."

"Bullsh**! What kind of book is that from? You can't cancel me just because of that!"

"I am the **LAW**!" Dredd hollered, quoting his trademark catchphrase, "I can do whatever the hell I want!"

MrDrProfessor4 looked down at the ground in frustration. "But we've already seen millions of reenactments based on issue-one of the Manga. Every time it's just a slight twist, like with Tsukune being a monster, or a character from a different series is put into his shoes. I just wanted to try something different, as opposed to recycling the same script over and over. I wanted something that was less predictable and doesn't reuse Manga characters only."

"You wanted your own original story. That's fine, but we're talking about your execution of it." DBZ's Frieza, the second judge said, "Bad guys are awesome and all, I should know, but you practically let Alistair steal the show."

"Well what would you have settled for then?" MrDrProfessor4 asked, "Darth Vader duel wielding chainsaw lightsabers?"

Frieza folded his arms. "How about no villain at all?"

"But Tsukune is just such a stupid character!" MrDrProfessor4 shouted.

The entire audience of the courtroom made a loud gasp.

"Oh c'mon people!" MrDrProfessor4 turned around towards the direction of the spectators, "Let's just face it, Tsukune is the least interesting character in the entire Rosario + Vampire franchise!" The people in the room began shouting him down. "His personality is incredibly plain, he's ridiculously sentimental, and he's inhumanly nice. With all that in mind, you could make a logical argument that's he's the least 'human' character of the entire main cast. It's so **DIFFICULT** to keep him in-character without making him sound like a retard."

"If you dislike the main character and harem comedies so much, why are you writing a story about Rosario + Vampire at all?" asked the third judge, Ezio Auditore from Assassin's Creed.

"You see, there were plenty of _other_ character that made the manga so compelling, like Inner Moka and Mizore." MrDrProfessor4 explained, "There was some legitimate drama surrounding them. Tsukune isn't really the heart of the story, he's just an empty shell that moves it along."

"Indeed." Ezio Auditore said in his Italian accent, "But that could've been applied that to your own story and just stuck to the manga characters. What you're convicted of was not unavoidable."

MrDrProfessor4 groaned to himself. "Damn it, it's just not fair! People will always dislike _any _original character I create, regardless who they are or what they do! They'll just be seen as an outsider." He knew he wanted to say more, but he couldn't think of anything due to the heat of the moment. Was this story too ambitious?

"Let's move onto the subject of your fight scenes now." Frieza said, "I love fights, being a DBZ character of course, but it's a fairly unusual thing to do with fan fiction."

"Well it's like I said before," MrDrProfessor4 shrugged, "I just wanted to do something different, for better or for worse. No other story has very much of this."

"And there may be a good reason for that." Frieza looked at a piece of paper on his desk, "If what I'm reading here is correct, the reactions to your fight scenes have been fairly mixed. Some said they were intense, but others called them boring."

"Something else that I didn't like about Rosario + Vampire was that the fights were so short and anti-climactic. Every monster was easily beaten by a single kick, and there were too few exceptions to this."

"So you wanted to make more elaborate fights? That's alright, but not necessary."

"It's entirely necessary when there's a purpose behind each fight."

"A purpose?"

"Yeah," MrDrProfessor4 took a deep breath, "every fight so far, as well as the ones planned to happen later, all ether tells us more about a character, creates a bridge to the next part of the plot, or something else is going on between the fighters than just them physically hitting each other. Take chapter 4 for example, the fight helps us better understand what kind of person Akuha is. She is someone who puts pride aside and will do _anything_ to prevail or get what she wants, even outside of fights."

"You talk too much."

"I guess so…" MrDrProfessor4 looked down at the words on his chest plate, "Hence why you guys stuck 'Jabber Mouth' on me after last court session."

XXX

After the judges and jury conversed for a while, Judge Dredd slammed his hammer again, bringing everyone to attention. "MrDrProfessor4, we have reached a unanimous decision! For the remainder of your story, you are no longer allowed to focus on new villains or fight scenes to the extent that you have been!"

MrDrProfessor4 shook his head stubbornly. "I'm not changing any of what I already had planned!"

"Fine then, in that case your sentence is **TWEN**tey years in the choky!"

MrDrProfessor4 looked over at Ezio. "Help me out here buddy."

"I am sorry." Ezio Auditore said, "Personally I would like to see your story continue. But my vote is outnumbered two to one. There is nothing I can do."

"Take him away," Frieza yelled, "Lord Frieza commands it!"

Kane and Lynch, characters from the worst video game of all time, grabbed MrDrProfessor4 by the wrist chains and began to pull him out of the room.

"The readers will bring me back!" MrDrProfessor4 shouted as he was being hauled away, "And when they do, the story shall continue!"

Frieza laughed to himself. "Fool, you place too much faith in them!"

"You just wait and see, Frieza!" MrDrProfessor4 was dragged out the doorway. The double-doors slammed shut.


	13. Chpt 13: Phantom

**I had to rewrite this chapter three times! First, my computer breaks down, so I lost the completed chapter with it. Next I buy a new computer for $400, but it bugs out leading me to be 'quarantined' from the internet, or so it told me. I had to set the computer back exactly the way it was a week ago (dubbed computer recovery), and that's before I restarted writing this chapter. You're tearing me apart Lisa! Erm… I mean Microsoft! Damn it!**

**Anyways, let's get to why you're actually reading this, the fanfiction:**

**I had no idea people liked my fiction so much. I thought I was doing mediocre at best until I read the reviews for chapter 12.**

**The Chapter names of 'Season Two' will follow a different theme.**

**Self-inserts will be done for 'author's notes' and 'commentary' purposes only. Unlike other author-avatars, I will not have any kind of ridiculous superpowers. In fact, you've already seen that I'm sort of pathetic, but hey, at least I look cool right?**

**Oh no! I'm talking about myself again!**

* * *

**Some Unimportant Place**

Griggs and Sheckley sat on a couch, eating junk food and watching a boxing match on television. Neither of them could really enjoy themselves, no matter how hard they tried. All that either boxer seemed to do was hug the other.

"These guys can't fight for sh**." Griggs said with a yawn.

Sheckley nodded, stuffing himself with a hotdog. "They just don't make them like they used to. It doesn't look like these bums are even trying."

"This is even lamer than the Rosario + Vampire Anime adaptation."

Sheckley casted a mean glare at Griggs.

"What are you looking at? We both know it's true." Griggs said as he grabbed popcorn from the table, "Sure it's drawn and animated nicely, but the entire show is just panty shots coming every three seconds."

"Dude, we're _not_ supposed to take sides. I kind of liked it, and I'm sure someone else out there does too."

Griggs took another bite out of his hamburger and drank some of his root beer. "Sorry, I'm just so damned depressed," he said, "this story gets such a great reaction at the box office, and yet we, the comedy relief guys, get so little screen time."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we can take it out on someone else's work… except for 'Kane and Lynch' and 'Twilight'. Those are the only two exceptions."

"Kane and Lynch? I want those hours of my life back."

"At least 'Battlefield: Earth' was so bad that it was funny."

The two of them chuckled and gobbling down more junk food.

"Hey, I know what will cheer us up!" Griggs said in excitement.

"It better not be another one of your horrible jokes," Sheckley said, "or I'm punching you in the nose _again_."

"Don't worry, it's just some good news."

"What do you mean?"

Griggs pulled out a magazine article that showed a picture of MrDrProfessor4 in his Helghast armor. His chest plate now read 'Stubborn Ass' instead of 'Jabber Mouth'.

"The writer? But I thought he was put on ice." Sheckley said.

"He was, but enough readers were rallied together to convince Dredd to permit his release." Griggs said, "Despite Frieza's protests, 'Assassin' has been renewed for a second season!"

"**Hurrah**! That's great!" Sheckley cheered, raising his fists over his shoulders, "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"

"Well that's because… there's some bad news too."

"And that would be?"

"We won't appear in it."

Sheckley's happy expression instantly faded. "Damn it!"

XXX

**Tsukune's House – Television Room**

Exactly 2 weeks had passed by since Akuha had first come to this town. She had gotten to know each of Tsukune's 'friends' much better as she spent more time with them.

Outer Moka seemed like a false mask at first, hiding her real sister, but over time she showed that she was a very likeable person. She even had a few qualities that Akuha liked about her real sister. While Akuha didn't mind her, she still couldn't bring herself to think of her as a sister.

Akuha didn't like Kurumu at first either, but was beginning to warm up to her as time flowed by. She was reasonable and got what she wanted honorably. Besides being _very_ hyperactive, Akuha had to admit she actually liked Kurumu.

Yukari on the other hand was impossible to adjust to. Akuha had never liked little kids outside of family, they annoyed her, but Yukari was just pushing it. Her deranged sexual fantasies about a threesome with Tsukune and Akuha's _own sister_ sent shivers down the spine.

"Get your hands off Moka!" Akuha yelled. At the moment she was wearing one of the dark colored outfits she bought at the mall a week ago.

Yukari was dangling above the ground on Moka's back, holding onto her breasts. "This has nothing to do with you." Yukari said stubbornly.

"Yes, it does. Moka is my _sister_." Akuha grabbed Yukari by the cape she wore and pulled her off of Moka, holding her above the ground and looking her straight in the eye.

"You're a protective big sis aren't you?" asked the little witch.

"Well how am I supposed to act when you touch Moka like that?"

"You let Moka make her own decisions. She doesn't mind it after all." Yukari looked over at Moka. "Isn't that right?"

Moka still stood blushing in place like a statue. The way Yukari had grabbed her left her too bewildered to say or do anything. "Well… erm… I…"

"Honestly, I've seen a lot of terrible things in my life," Akuha began to say, "but I can't even begin to imagine what makes a vulgar little rascal like you."

As Akuha continued holding Yukari by the cape, Kurumu approached and grabbed Yukari's chest from behind. "She's probably trying to compensate for something." Kurumu said with a laugh.

"Teasing me about my chest is really getting old!" Yukari whined.

"Could you blame me? Even Akuha has bigger bumpers."

"Stop picking on her," Tsukune said as he walked into the room, "you two are above that."

Akuha shrugged and gently let go of Yukari's cape. Kurumu also released her and returned to the couch.

"Don't forget, we're in the human world and not Yōkai Academy." Tsukune said as he sat next to Kurumu and grabbed the remote, "We would be in some serious trouble if someone saw you fighting."

"I just kill any witnesses…" Akuha mumbled in silence, "never been a problem for me."

"Wait, what did you say?" Tsukune asked curiously.

"Huh?" Akuha struggled to think of something that sounded similar, "I said… you're right and I agree."

Everyone stared at her like she was crazy.

"You didn't say that." A stoic voice said behind her.

Akuha spun around and saw Mizore staring at her. "You're good at sneaking up on people." Akuha most certainly wasn't lying. Alistair was the only other person that had ever done it successfully.

"You said something that had to do with witnesses." The handle of Mizore's lollipop bobbed up and down in her mouth as she talked.

Akuha was thankful that no one had heard her clearly, but why had she blurted that out at all? "Look, let's just drop this please. Just pretend I said 'grilled-chili-cheese-steak.'"

Everyone but Mizore shrugged and agreed to dismiss it. "I guess some people are just weird like that." Mizore said, glaring at Akuha.

"Look in the mirror and say that." Kurumu said with a laugh.

Akuha however felt much less relaxed than the others. "Does she suspect me?" she thought, "Maybe she's brighter than I initially thought." Even after an entire week, Mizore still seemed like a stranger. They rarely ever exchanged a word. What few actions she performed included only a few words to Tsukune or butting heads with Kurumu. She was mysterious, and mysterious felt dangerous to Akuha. "Forget about it, I'm probably just being paranoid."

"What does everyone feel like doing today?" Tsukune asked, "Want to head over to the mall, arcade, or park again?"

"We've strolled around town the entire week." Moka said, coming behind the couch, "Can't we try something else for a change?"

"What else is there to do?"

Kurumu brought her index finger up, signaling she had an idea. "How about we all watch a movie? Tsukune, do you have any good DVDs?"

Tsukune got up and walked over to the television, opening up a cabinet below it. "Here's all I got." he said as he kneeled down, "My parents sold most of them in a garage sale during our last quarter at school."

Moka, Kurumu, Yukari, and Mizore all peaked over Tsukune, looking at what movies he had. There were only about eight DVD disc cases.

"I've seen six of these," Kurumu said, "and I heard the other two suck."

"Is the local movie theater featuring anything good?" asked Mizore.

"Nope. No good titles at the moment." Tsukune said.

Moka turned around and looked at Akuha, whom was standing in place with her arms crossed. "Hey Nee-sama, you're probably the only one here who hasn't seen any of these. Which one do you want to watch?"

"I don't care. I don't watch many movies."

"But isn't there something you like at least a little bit? Martial arts action? Horror? Those sound like genres you'd probably enjoy."

"Like I said, I don't watch many movies. I didn't back in the Shuzen Household and still don't now."

"You don't watch _many_ movies?" Kurumu asked, sounding interested, "That implies you've at least seen a few right?"

"Yeah, but there's only one I've ever liked."

"A movie that you liked?" Kurumu grew even more interested, "Tell us! What is it?" Kurumu was obviously surprised that Akuha had watched anything related to entertainment on her own accord. By now, everyone already noticed that Akuha was the all-work and no-play type.

"'The Phantom of the Opera'. I watched it while I was roaming around Europe."

Tsukune, Yukari, and Mizore were still looking at the 8 DVDs in the cabinet. Only Tsukune turned in attention when both Moka and Kurumu broke out in sudden laughter.

Akuha felt both irritated and confused. "Okay, what's so funny?"

"Nee-sama! I had no idea you were into musicals."

"Huh? I'm not. I just liked the overall dark tone to the story." Akuha let out a deep breath. Her tendency to tell the truth over a lie had certainly grown over the last week. "I especially liked the Phantom himself."

"Why? You're into that kind of man?" Kurumu asked in a naughty manner.

Akuha casted an annoyed glare. "It's got nothing to do with that. While the Phantom was certainly wicked, he showed that he was still capable of real, legitimate love. That's the concept that really sold the character for me." Akuha didn't think it was a good idea to include that she also identified with the Phantom, so she left that detail out. "He was the heart of the story, despite being the villain."

XXX

Each of the five newspaper club members eventually decided to play a board game on the living room table, in place of watching a movie. They invited Akuha to join them, but she turned them down. Instead, she sat down and read a magazine in the dining room.

"How much longer do I have to stay here?" Akuha thought, "Sure, I'm enjoying myself, but I've practically moved in with Tsukune." She had been sleeping at her apartment and coming back to Tsukune's house everyday the past week. "What could any of this possibly accomplish? Did the overseer mean for me to run into Dythe and Alistair? No, that can't be all. Maybe he would want me to get rid of them, but that doesn't explain why I have to spend an extra week here." Nothing made any sense to her. It was a waste of good talent to play house with someone for two whole weeks. There was no telling how much longer she would be stuck here.

"Why are you sitting here all alone?" asked Tsukune's Mother, Kasumi, as she entered the room.

"Ms. Aono?" Akuha set down the magazine.

Kasumi opened a nearby cupboard, apparently getting dinner ready for later. Akuha had already insisted that she would eat elsewhere. Five girls were a bit much to handle after all. At least Kurumu was around to make up for the higher demand of food. "The other's are having such a good time while you're sitting here alone. Did something happen?" Kasumi asked without looking at Akuha. On second thought, it seemed almost impossible to tell if her eyes were opened or closed.

"Nothing happened. I'm just not into board games." Akuha suddenly felt a surge of curiosity, "Ms. Aono, how do you see without opening your eyes?"

"Wait, what did you say?" Kasumi asked curiously.

"I mean… what is the color of your eyes?" Akuha corrected herself, "It's just hard to see them."

Kasumi halted what she was doing. While it was near impossible to catch a glimpse of her eyes, the way her mouth hung slightly open showed that she was confused.

"Never mind. It's not important anyways." Akuha said as she began reading the magazine again. "What were you saying about the others again?"

"I was just wondering why you weren't spending more time with them. I mean, this is their last day here."

"Last day? What are you talking about?"

"You didn't know? School is starting real soon, so the other girls are leaving later tonight."

"Tonight?" Akuha felt something snap inside, "But I haven't even gotten a chance to…" her voice trailed off.

"If you have any unfinished business with them, it's best that you settle it now."

Akuha got up from the table and quickly walked away. "Excuse me."

Seeing how she was alone, Kasumi decided to resume preparing dinner. "I wonder what's got her so fidgety. Maybe it's something to do with Kurumu? I noticed those two seem to get along." It was slightly after she had turned the stove on when she remembered an important detail, "Oh wait, aren't Moka and Akuha sisters? Strange, they don't look a lot alike."

XXX

Akuha quickly approached the five members of the newspaper club. Despite having outgrown the board game they were playing, they seemed to be enjoying themselves. The source of their excitement was how they interacted with each other, rather than the game itself.

"Yes!" Kurumu cheered, "In your face, Moka!" She seemed to have gotten ahead in whatever game they were playing.

Moka picked up the dice and rolled it. "I won't go down so easily!" she said, more hyper than usual.

Akuha could imagine Inner Moka saying these same words, but in a very different tone. Instead of the familiar, stern, and prideful tone, Outer Moka sounded sarcastic and excited.

Moka noticed her eldest sister standing near them. "Nee-sama?" she said as she turned her head.

"Did you change your mind?" asked Yukari.

"No, sorry. It's about a different matter." Akuha glanced at both Moka and Tsukune. "I need to have a word with the two of you."

"Just us?" Tsukune asked.

Akuha nodded. "Yes, alone please. It's sort of personal."

Moka and Tsukune got up and followed Akuha to another room.

Akuha glanced around. It was the same room where Kurumu had forced her to admit feelings for Tsukune. "You're going back to school soon right?" she asked.

"We are," Tsukune replied, "the Summer is almost over. Why do you ask?"

"Your Mother just told me that Moka and the others were leaving tonight."

"The bus is going to pick us up soon," Moka said, "I told Ms. Aono ahead of time. She's the adult of the house that we're staying at after all."

Akuha stared back at her, not amused.

"Huh?" Moka realized what was bothering her sister. "Oh! I should have told you too," she said, putting her hands up with a guilty look on her face, "I'm sorry, it just slipped my mind."

"No harm done." Akuha began to stare at the Rosary that jingled from Moka's neck. "As for what I wanted to talk about…" she moved her gaze over to Tsukune, "Tsuk, only you can remove the seal."

"Yup, that's correct." Tsukune answered. "What for? Did yet _another_ powerful monster just show up?"

"Don't worry. I never really ask for help anyways." Akuha noticed the irony in what she said. She rarely ever needed help in fights, but last week had been the complete opposite of what she was used to. She probably wouldn't still be alive had it not been for Tsukune during her fight with Dythe. The same went for Moka during the battle with Alistair.

"I think get it," Moka said in a sweet manner, "you want to talk to the 'me' you knew from seven years ago. Why didn't you just say so?"

"That's _exactly_ what I wanted to talk about." Akuha said.

Tsukune frowned. "You know… Inner Moka and Outer Moka are technically the same person."

"Well they don't seem the same to me," Akuha said, "they act differently and their personalities are the complete opposite of the other."

"Well, I guess that's true." Tsukune said, scratching the back of his head,

"Look, I don't have anything against 'this Moka', but is it too much to ask that I want to see the sister that I recognize? It's been seven years, and she's about to go away _again_ very soon."

Tsukune could tell just by looking Akuha in the eye, how much she wanted to see Inner Moka. "I understand," he said as he nodded towards Moka, "What kind of person would I be if I said 'no' to such a request?" He reached over and grasped Moka's rosary, hesitating for a moment, before finally giving it a pull.

The Rosary slipped off and an explosion of red demonic energy erupted around Moka. When it had cleared and settled down, she looked remarkably different. Her hair turned silver and her eyes became red eyes, but what seemed most familiar was her reserved, aristocratic expression. Akuha recognizing Inner Moka as her sister over Outer Moka had nothing to do with physical appearances.

"Moka…" Akuha felt her heart begin to pound. Her sister certainly did grow beautiful over the years. Strangely, she felt as if she was attracted to her.

Inner Moka smiled warmly, happy to see her eldest sister after all these years. While she usually acted arrogantly, she could set such notions aside just for this. "Nee-sama." she spoke in a much deeper-sounding voice.

Tsukune knew how warm a moment this had to have been for them. Inner Moka was rarely seen smiling the way she was now. "She looks so happy," Tsukune thought to himself, "being treasured by someone in her family." He noted how infatuated Kokoa seemed to have been for Inner Moka as well.

"How's my favorite instructor doing?" Moka said in a teasing manner.

"Never better. I see you've taken our conversations about fighting to heart." Akuha said.

"Three is a crowd," Tsukune said as he placed the seal onto a nearby shelf, "I should probably leave and let you two get reacquainted."

"I don't mind you staying, Tsuk."

Inner Moka brushed aside a hair that hung in front of her right eye. "I however do." she said.

"Its fine. It wouldn't be right for me to watch anyways." Tsukune turned and left the room.

Akuha stared back at her sister. She had thought of her every day for 7 years, but now, she couldn't think of what to say to her. It was just like when she couldn't bring herself to say goodbye. "You're all grown up, Moka." she said. What a stupid thing to say…

"And you don't look like you've changed at all." Moka lifted a finger ad lightly pointed at Akuha's chest, "Not much development there I see."

Akuha completely froze with a traumatized look on her face. "S… so what about my breasts?" she stuttered, "You know I'm sensitive about them!"

"Hah, just like I remember you were."

Akuha hoped she wasn't turning red. "I don't recall you ever teasing me about my… growth."

Moka let out a brief laugh. "I don't normally tease others like that, I just couldn't resist." She rarely acted so delighted, but she seldom met other vampires. She had great admiration for Akuha's strength and expertise on the battlefield.

"It looks like you've made quite a few friends at school. I'm a little jealous." Akuha sat down on her knees. "But how on Earth did you befriend that creepy witch?"

Moka sat down as well. "You get used to her… sort of. To be honest, I didn't like any of them at first either."

XXX

Moka and Akuha socialized for over an hour, catching up with what the other had been doing over the past years. Moka talked about her time under Tenmei Mikogami's care (_the exorcist_), her experience at a human school, and how she later on met her friends. Akuha talked about her travels around the world and the handiwork she did. There was no harm in telling Moka about her killings, though she didn't include the details of whom she killed or why she killed them. Unlike Tsukune, Moka knew that a vampire killing someone was completely ordinary. Kahlua openly killed a lot too, although her methods weren't so inhuman.

It was a good thing Moka didn't ask more about the killings. Akuha could barley tolerate holding anything back from her. If Moka had made any straightforward questions, Akuha would have answered them truthfully, despite being well aware of the consequences. Akuha had to choose between herself and her sister, and she had already made up her mind long ago.

Satisfied with their reunion, Moka picked up the seal again, ready to reattach it. To her surprise, Akuha quickly embraced her with a firm hug. "It was great to see you again, Moka." Akuha said.

"Likewise Nee-sama, but seriously… you don't need to keep saying that. I get it already, you're happy to see me."

XXX

**10:00 PM – Bus Stop**

The rest of the day flew by like the past week had. The six of them hanging out never felt tiresome, but they still couldn't keep this routine up forever. When the clock hit 9:50 PM, they all reluctantly returned to the bus stop. The six of them stood waiting on the sidewalk.

"The last few days were some of the most fun I've ever had," Tsukune said, "I wish we could relive them over and over… minus those guys that assaulted us I mean."

"Be careful what you wish for," Yukari said, "it's kind of like that one Christmas movie where… I think they wished for Christmas to come every day and regretted it… or something like that. I forget how it went."

"Christmas Everyday, that was the name of the movie." Mizore said.

"I've never even heard of it, but I could guess what the moral is." Akuha said as she leaned against a nearby concrete wall.

Tsukune shrugged. "It wouldn't be hard to. It's a children's movie after all."

Moka, currently in her sealed personality, suddenly pointed down the road. "Look, the bus is here."

An ominous bus drove up, and slowly came to a stop. The doors opened little by little, revealing the man at the driver seat. The man wore a blue business suit and a cap. His eyes bore a menacing glow and a cigar was hanging from his mouth. "All aboard…" He said in a creepy monotone. His gaze seemed to focus Akuha.

Akuha stared back at the driver. "Who is that guy?"

"Uh… the Bus Driver." Tsukune said.

"Yeah, what's his name?"

"The Bus Driver."

"Yes, I mean the bus driver. What is his name?"

"We just call him 'Bus Driver'. I don't know his name."

The Bus Driver he let out a puff of smoke from his mouth. "Any of you coming or what?" he said.

"I don't want to go…" Kurumu moaned.

"At least school is starting very soon," Mizore said, "we'll see Tsukune again before long."

"Let your mom know we appreciated the hospitality." Yukari said to Tsukune. Both she and Moka bowed politely.

"Sure thing. See you all at school." Tsukune watched as Kurumu, Yukari, and Mizore each stepped onto the bus. His attention fell over to Moka. "Moka…"

Moka stared back at him and smiled. "Tsukune…"

"Moka…"

"Tsukune…"

"Moka…"

"Tsukune…"

"Mo-"

Akuha suddenly interrupted them. "What are you two **doing**?"

"Huh?" Tsukune snapped out of the trance. "Nothing, just a force of habit, that's all."

Akuha rolled her eyes. Their 'habit' was a fairly unusual way to have a moment. Who else actually does that _while_ taking it seriously? Nonetheless, she decided not to be rude and just keep the thought to herself.

Moka got onto the bus and the doors closed. Through the window, she waved at her older sister, who casually waved back. The bus sped away like a lightning bolt.

"That Bus is wicked-fast." Akuha mumbled.

A Raven sitting atop of the lamppost next to them let out a loud, sharp sequence of calling noises. Akuha looked up at it in response to the noise it made.

"Something wrong?" Tsukune asked.

"Ravens are considered to be bad omens in folklore right?"

"Why? You're superstitious or something?"

"No… not really. It was just a weird thought I had." Akuha looked away from the raven and put her hands on her hips. "Forget it. Everything is exactly what it is, and a bird is just a bird." Akuha had guessed that she was told to hang around Tsukune as a way to locate, and eliminate individuals that Fairy Tale wanted dead, whatever their relations to him were. If she still hadn't received any orders, wouldn't that mean there was another powerful monster lurking about? It was merely speculation however. Her purpose in this town may have had nothing to do with Dythe or Alistair for all she knew. "Trouble seems to follow you around." she said.

The raven spread its wings out and flew off into the pitch-black sky, releasing more loud croaks that grew softer and softer as it flew further away.

"Akuha, where do you plan on going next?" Tsukune asked.

"What do you mean Tsuk?"

"School starts just a few days from now. Once I leave, what do you plan on doing later?"

Akuha thought about her orders. Would she have to follow Tsukune to his school? Maybe. There still hasn't been any word from Fairy Tale. "I don't know, but that's what makes life so exciting right? You never know what's going to happen."

Tsukune and Akuha just stared back at each other awkwardly, not know what to say next.

"So uh…"

"Yeah…" Tsukune scratched his shoulder.

"I guess I'll return to my apartment now."

"Okay, have a nice evening Akuha."

"You too, Tsuk."

The two of them silently turned around and walked opposite directions.

"With all threats eliminated and Tsukune's 'friends' out of town, things should get pretty boring now…" Akuha sighed. "Damn it!" She decided to take her time getting back to her apartment, and just walked instead of jumping across the rooftops. The sound of a raven chirping seemed to follow her.

XXX

To be continued in next chapter.

* * *

**The Overseer is the guy seen in chapter 1.**

**"While the Phantom was certainly wicked, he showed that he was still capable of real, legitimate love." Who does that sound like? No I don't mean me! I mean a character in the fiction.**

**The 'dark nature' of this story has been toned down compared to how it was originally planned. Rest assured, there's still going to be plenty of killing later on.**

**Damn it!**


	14. Chpt 14: The Raven

**Describing a character's appearance is a real piece of work. Thankfully I don't need to do this with canon characters from the manga. A real advantage they've got is that we all know exactly what they look like. Visualizing them in a fic easy, but doing the same with an original character is a whole different box-of-donuts.**

**Another character is introduced in this chapter. As a tool to visualize her better, look at linked image on my profile page (Images have been taken down for the moment).**

**Please believe me when I say that I'm not trying to rip anything off. Not one of the twenty descriptions I tried hit home for me, so I decided: "Screw it, it's not that important anyway!" Instead, I'm just using visual aid in an attempt to let the made-up character feel a bit more innate to the anime setting.**

* * *

**Akuha's Hotel Room**

Akuha lay asleep in bed, dressed in pajamas and turned on her side. It was dark, although the room was slightly illuminated by the moonlight coming through the window. It was quiet as well, save for an occasional car passing by on the street outside. Suddenly, a knock was heard on the door.

"Ugh…" Akuha moaned as she slowly opened her eyes. Another knock suddenly came. "What? Who could that be this late at night?" she said drowsily. She slowly got up and walked over to the door.

Yet another knock came.

"Hold your damned horses!" Akuha shouted in a grouchy tone. She opened the door and found a familiar face standing there. "Tsukune? What are you doing here?"

"Hey Akuha. Sorry for bothering you so late." Tsukune said.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Akuha turned around and looked at the digital clock. It was 3:00 AM.

Tsukune pulled out a golden chain with an onyx piece attached. "You seemed to have forgotten this." He said as he walked into the apartment.

"I didn't realize I lost it. Thanks I guess." Akuha could've sworn she had it with her when she returned. She glanced over to the top of the drawer next to her bed. She remembered putting it there, yet it wasn't there. "You know Tsuk, you could've returned it to me in the mourning." She walked back over to her bed and sat on it.

"I couldn't wait Akuha. I wanted to see you again." Tsukune violently grabbed her by the shoulders, pushing her back against the bed. He looked straight down at her.

"Wha… What!" Akuha said in surprise, "What are you doing? This isn't like you." as the situation seemed, she hadn't felt so confused in her life, and her puzzled look certainly showed it.

Tsukune slowly lowered his face towards Akuha's, their mouths only a few inches away from the other. "I couldn't stand being away from you for another moment." He stared deeply into her eyes. "Now that the other's have left, we are alone again."

"Tsuk, are you… feeling alright?" Akuha felt herself turning red again. Part of her felt pleased, and part of her felt confused. She already admitted to herself that she liked Tsukune, but she also knew that he would never act like this.

"I'm going to make you my woman Akuha." Tsukune said in a firm voice.

Akuha had to fight down a smile. She knew that something was off. Not only was Tsukune acting out-of-character, but there was one other important detail: she never told Tsukune where she was staying.

Tsukune leaned closer to Akuha, about to kiss her.

Even while Akuha thought of the possibility that this wasn't really Tsukune, such as an illusion or doppelganger, she felt a powerful urge to _not_ fight back.

"Akuha… I-" The sound of an alarm clock suddenly drowned out what he was trying to say.

XXX

"Arrrrrgggg!" Akuha woke up for real, jumping straight up like someone had poked her with a needle. Her alarm clock had gone off, it was now 8:00 AM. She looked over at the drawer near her. The onyx necklace lay on it, just where she left it. She had never forgotten it in the first place. "Whew, just a dream…" The eerie memory of her dream slowly flooded back to her. "What the? And what kind of _bizarre_ dream was that?" she got out of bed, wondering what the hell was wrong with her. "That's it, I'm taking a day's break from 'spying on Tsuk'. I'm really starting to lose it."

Akuha got dressed into some ordinary casual ware, a shirt and a pair of jeans, and decided to eat breakfast. Some cereal that she bought at the store sounded good. Anything was better than this hotel's "gourmet top-of-the-line" food. After she finished eating, she went outside for a walk. Her venture around the overly familiar town didn't last very long, and so she watched a bit of television when she got back. The television was small, and had poor quality. It was quite possible that it was older than she was.

The television snapped off at the click of the remote. It was too difficult to make out what was happening on the screen. Akuha set the remote down and leaned forward from the dinner-table chair she was sitting on. She didn't know what to do with herself now. It was only 11:30 AM and she was already bored out of her mind.

"I guess when I look back on it, hanging out with Tsukune was some of the most fun I've had since…" Akuha's thoughts were interrupted when a dark blur suddenly dived through the open window. "Whoa!" Akuha jumped off the chair in alarm and took a fighting stance.

A raven had flown into the room, and gently landed itself onto the backrest of the chair Akuha jumped off of. At a quick glance, the raven obviously wasn't normal. Its eyes glowed purple and a few white feathers were streaked along its head to its back.

Akuha had seen this bird before. "Talia, you sure know how to freak me out." she said, annoyed as she put her arms down. The bird was another member of Fairy Tale.

The raven hopped down onto the carpet and began to morph rapidly. It became a young girl. She appeared to be around the age of 17 or 18.

She had dark purple eyes, similar to amethysts. Her hair was long, gray, and straight, stretching all the way down to her waist like Inner Moka's hair, but with a slightly darker tint to it. On her back was a pair of large angel-like black-feathered wings. Her breasts were large, not as big as Kurumu's but comparable to Inner Moka's. Her facial features gave hints that she was French, and she wore an eloquent dark-blue and black Victorian dress. While a strange taste in fashion, it was something that females of her Yōkai race commonly wore since the Middle Ages.

On her head was a black hair-band with fancy lace trimmings and ribbons at each end. Both sleeves as well as the knee-long skirt had white frills. The skirt sported dark-blue ribbons crisscrossing across it to make a diamond-like pattern. She also wore black high-heeled boots that went slightly above her knees. Around her neck was a tear-shaped diamond necklace, baring a resemblance to Akuha's tear-shaped onyx necklace.

(_I'm SHOWING her appearance, not telling. Saying "beautiful", "incredible", or "extraordinary" is Mary Sue talk._)

**Bite Sized Monster Dictionary**: Lecorjamasi, a humanoid race of Yōkai that originated east of Sicily on a group of islands in the Mediterranean Sea. They come equipped with massive black-feathered wings on their backs, and they shape-shift into ravens to travel around the human world unnoticed. They are considered to be one of the world's rarest Yōkai species due to high birth-mortality rates.

"Bonjour Akuha." Talia said politely as she performed a curtsey, "You say that I scared you? The great Black Devil?"

"I've been on edge recently." Akuha relaxed herself, "So, I assume the deal in Czechoslovakia went well?"

Talia giggled. "Oh you have no idea…" The large wings on her back seemed to shrink and disappear into her back. She then sat down on the chair next to her. "So, what about your assignment? How goes it?"

"It's gotten complicated." Akuha let herself fall back against the wall to lean on it. "A lot of monkey wrenches have been thrown."

Talia seemed to smile like an angel. "How so?"

"Well, first I was assaulted by… _something_ that held a grudge against me. After that, an infamous killer and his two muscle-headed lackeys attacked me. And now, my target…" Akuha trailed off, not knowing what to say. She didn't know where to begin with Tsukune.

"What about your target?" Talia asked in a gracious manner, "Is he charming? Sweet? Dreamy?" She tilted her head a little to the side, curious to how Akuha would respond.

"Huh?" Akuha lifted an eyebrow. "What are you trying to imply?"

Talia's smile gave hints of a smirk. "I've noticed that you've been warming up to him."

Akuha's stare darkened. "You've been watching me in your raven form haven't you?"

Talia made another feminine giggle. "Oh no, I just arrived here less than an hour ago. I found out some other way."

"Some other agent told you?"

"No, it was the blush on your face." Talia's expression turned to a naughty one. "The one you're making right now."

Akuha realized how red her face became when Tsukune came to mind.

Talia covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle her giggling down. "You're said to be a silver tongued liar, but I can see right through you. I've always been a good judge of character."

"You're not as good as you think you are. I don't feel anything for the boy." Akuha said. She had already admitted to herself that she liked him, but she wasn't about to tell that to another member of Fairy Tale. "What's troubling me is that he's close to someone else I care about, my younger sister Moka." Thinking about Moka didn't stop her from blushing more for some reason.

"Ah, quite a coincidence."

"Cut the crap." Akuha said as she walked closer to Talia. "There's no way this can be an accident. What is the overseer withholding from me?" she yelled with irritation in the thick of her voice.

Talia just sat there, still maintaining her friendly smile.

"The last time I asked, I was told to find out on my own, so this time I'm demanding." Akuha activated the Jigen-Tou technique and brought her right hand to Talia's neck.

Talia didn't even flinch. "What makes you think I know?" she said with a cool, calm, and collected expression, "You'll have to ask him directly if you want to find out."

Akuha lowered her hand. "Talia is lower ranked than me," she thought, "so why would she know anything that I don't?"

Talia eyed the glittering onyx necklace Akuha was wearing, "Well look at this. Someone went and got herself a souvenir."

Akuha grasped the onyx tear defensively. "Why does it matter to you? I'll wear whatever I please!"

"Temper, temper," Talia poked at her own diamond necklace with her fingernail, "I don't have anything against jewelry. I just didn't think you would wear anything more than a pair of earrings." Her tone then turned to a sarcastic one. "Perhaps you were right. Maybe I'm really_ not_ such a good judge of character."

Akuha sat down at the other side of the table. "Now with all joking aside, why did you come all the way over here?" she asked while resting her elbows on the table, rested her chin on her interlaced fingers.

"I only came to check on you." Talia spoke in a friendly manner.

"The overseer sent you to see how I was doing?" Akuha narrowed her eyes.

"Sort of. I'm here for that purpose, but I came on my own initiative." Talia made a derisive shrug.

"That's it? You just come by with no message, record, or report?" Akuha lay her arms down on the table. She felt skeptical over Talia's answer.

"Not really, I was only passing through. That reminds me." Talia opened a purse revealing a plastic bottle filled with human blood. "I thought you'd be rather thirsty." She placed the bottle onto the table.

Akuha took the bottle, removed the lid, and sniffed its contents. "Mmmmm… Impractical, yet convenient." Lecorjamasi used some kind of magic to store and carry objects while in their raven form. It made them great messengers.

"I can see you're doing just fine on your own," Talia said with her hands clasped together, "but that's to be expected from a member of your caliber, right?"

XXX

**Tsukune's House**

Now that all their guests had left, a lot of chores had to be done around the house, which Tsukune was happy to help with. Dishes, garbage, vacuuming, and so on.

"If only Father or Kyouko were here," Tsukune said while vacuuming the carpet, "we could use the extra hands."

"Couldn't we ask Akuha if she would like to help?" said his mother, whom was picking up items left on the floor, "Unlike the other girls, she seems like a workhorse, atop of that she's still in town."

"She usually comes by on her own. In fact, I don't really know where she's staying." Tsukune recalled her referring to a hotel once, but she didn't say which one or where it was. The doorbell suddenly rang.

"Oh? Could that be her?" Kasumi asked.

"I'll go check." Tsukune shut off the vacuum cleaner and marched over to the door. "Akuha? Is that you?" Tsukune said as he opened it. It wasn't Akuha waiting on the front porch.

"How do you know Akuha-neesan?" Kokoa yelled at the top of her lungs. She seemed to be as fiery as ever. At the moment she was dressed in her usual red school uniform and leg-socks.

"She hung out with me and the others for a while." Tsukune said.

"And where are they all now? Where's Moka?"

"The girls all left just yesterday."

"Yesterday?" A disappointed look spread across Kokoa's face, "So everyone already went back?"

"Uh, yeah. That's pretty much it."

"I'm not giving up…" Kokoa grumbled.

"Well actually, Akuha is still-" Tsukune sentence was cut short when Kokoa sped away quickly.

"You're dueling me again, and I will beat you!" Kokoa grabbed her bike and immediately pedaling off at the speed of a sports car.

"Wait! Kokoa!" Tsukune called out with his hand outstretched. It was too late, Kokoa had already zoomed off. "Wow, that's one determined sister." Tsukune was frequently impressed by how much energy she had and how persistent she was.

"Who was that, son?" Kasumi asked, coming up behind him.

"Just another friend from school." Tsukune slowly shut the door and returned to the vacuum cleaner.

Kasumi however felt worried about her son. "I heard her voice, it was another girl."

Tsukune noticed the concern in her voice. "What's wrong with that?"

"You've got _at least_ 7 friends that are girls. Pretty ones at that."

"There's another that you haven't met yet. Her name is Ruby."

"Tsukune, this is serious."

"Serious?" Tsukune didn't know what his mother could be talking about. "What do you mean?"

"Haven't you made any 'guy' friends?"

Tsukune thought about it. Ginei was the only one that came to mind, and he was an incredibly notorious pervert at their school. "Just one I guess. He's the president of the newspaper club I'm in. Why do you ask?"

Kasumi just looked at him with an uneasy stare. "Unfortunately, your school is starting a few days from now, so _after_ you come back, I'm going to enroll you in proper sex education."

"What! All because my friends are mostly girls?"

"I've seen they way they talk to you, embrace you, and watch every movement you make when your back is turned. Don't try to convince me that they're only friends to you."

Tsukune made a depressing look and sighed. He already struggled with normal schoolwork, and now he had more work to do.

XXX

**Akuha's Hotel Room**

"Really? She actually said that?" Talia asked excitedly.

"I'm serious. The girl said she wanted to win Tsukune's and Moka's love and have a… _threesome_ with them." Akuha took another sip of blood from her plastic bottle.

Akuha was creeped out by Yukari's 'dream', Talia however found it amusing. "That's… just… bizar-" Talia began to giggle uncontrollably, unable to finish her sentence.

"Calm down. It wasn't _that_ funny." Akuha lifted the black queen off from the chessboard and placed it onto another square. To pass the time, the two of them were playing a game of chess while having a snack. Akuha didn't care much about chess, she never bothered with western games, but it was all that Talia had on-hand at the moment. As soon as the board had been brought out, Akuha immediately called dibs on black. Talia settled with playing white.

Talia finally pulled herself together, and took a piece of her strawberry cake with her fork. "That boy keeps such strange company." She took a bite of the cake and swallowed. "Humans… such fascinating creatures."

"I hate humans…" Akuha said as she moved the black queen again, "but you already knew that, I've never kept it a secret."

Talia moved one of her white rooks. "You hate humans, and yet you like Tsukune?" She made a curious look.

Akuha glared at Talia. "You haven't even seen him in person, let alone how I interact with him. How can you be so sure?"

"You haven't killed him yet." Talia said blankly.

Akuha sighed. "Okay, I'll give it to you on that one." She watched as Talia moved her knight into a position that threatened the black queen. "I'll admit it, I don't hate him the same way I hate other humans."

"Then what makes him so special?" Talia tilted her head and rested her right elbow on the table.

"Uh… his blood tastes good I guess." Akuha said with her eyes fixed on the chessboard. She moved the queen to safety.

Talia however had her attention focused on Akuha. "You like him only because of that?"

Akuha tore her eyes away from the chessboard and looked at Talia. "No, of course not."

"Then why else?"

Akuha paused for a moment and sighed. "I'm not really sure I could answer that question, even if my life depended on it. I like him, and I don't really know why." She looked downwards and closed her eyes. "I'm going to miss him when he leaves for school."

"Miss him?" Talia made a devious smile. "Have you forgotten why you came to this town in the first place?"

"Huh?" Akuha didn't like thinking about it. She recalled that she was supposed to bring in, if not kill Tsukune when given the go-ahead. "I guess it… slipped my mind."

Talia turned her head with her eyes still fixed on Akuha, making a sarcastic expression. "Poor Akuha, always losing sight of her objective."

"What are you talking about? That's incorrect and you know it." Akuha looked back down at the chessboard and picked up the queen again. "My 'objective' is _all_ that I keep in mind during my assignments."

"Indeed," Talia leaned forward across the table, "and that's _just_ what I'm talking about."

Akuha felt speechless. What Talia was saying to her didn't make any sense. "So let me get this straight. You say I lose sight of what's important because it's all I keep in mind?"

"Yes, most definitely." Talia's smile deepened.

Akuha cocked an eyebrow and frowned.

"How about I give you a demonstration of this tendency?" Talia looked down at the chessboard. "The king is the most important piece on the board. Isn't that right?"

"Yes, it is." Akuha said boringly.

"And in relevance only to this chess game," Talia glared back at Akuha, "what is most important to _you_?"

"What kind of stupid question is that?" Akuha said while folding her arms, "Winning is the only thing that _ever_ matters."

Talia shrugged. "Of course… and how would you accomplish this? How do you win a game of chess?"

"By getting _your_ king into checkmate, using one of my pieces on the board."

Talia nodded. "Which particular piece? Which one serves the role of checkmating my king the best?"

Akuha was getting tired of the long train of questions. "The queen."

"Precisely." Talia's smile faded, and she reverted to a smooth, smug expression. "While the most important piece on the board is the king, the only one you bother to think about is the queen." Talia moved one of her white bishops, putting Akuha's king into check. Akuha hadn't even noticed the opening. "Notice how you don't give a single thought about the king until the rules state that you _must_ move him? You're too focused on taking _my king_ to even notice the threat of losing _yours_. This makes it so easy to get you into checkmate."

Akuha looked for a way out of check, there weren't any. "Hmp. Sneaky." Talia had apparently moved her rook and knight to trap the king in advance. "Well, the king can't do anything on his own. When you really think about it, the most important piece really is the queen."

Talia nodded and her smile returned. "True, that's not a bad argument." She took a moment to swallow the last piece of her strawberry cake. "How about we use your current assignment as an example? You became so focused on getting to know Tsukune better that you lost sight of what you ultimately came here to do."

Akuha didn't say a thing. Frankly, she didn't want to think about hurting Tsukune, even if she knew it was essentially running away.

XXX

Seeing as how their game was over, Talia packed the chessboard away into her purse and stood up. "I guess that's that." Her black-feathered wings sprouted back out noisily.

Akuha had flinched at the suddenly loud sound. "You're leaving?" she asked rather surprised, "You just got here."

"I'll be around. Just continue playing the part of the mole for now." Talia turned and walked over to the window.

Akuha drank the last of the blood in the plastic bottle. "Fine," she wiped her mouth, "see you some other time."

Talia turned back towards Akuha, "J'espère que les choses vont bien pour tu," she said with a slight bow, wishing her well in French, "Au revoir." She slowly morphed into a raven and flew off through the window.

Akuha walked over to the open window and closed it shut. "Giggling creep." She mumbled. She had seen Talia often before, as they were part of the same Fairy Tale branch. Talia still seemed like a mystery though, as she never talked about herself. In fact, she had this same relation with nearly everyone in the entire organization, causing many to question what her role was. Many supposed that she was the overseer's mistress, being an attractive but weak Yōkai. Akuha however doubted that theory, as Talia was always roaming from place to place by herself. In the past she had delivered dossiers to Akuha on targets that Fairy Tale pegged for assassination. It was most probable that she was just a courier or an envoy. She certainly wasn't the warrior type.

XXX

To be continued in next chapter.

* * *

**Okay, I'll admit it. The dream was meant to take pot shots at a different fiction's inaccurate interpretation of Tsukune. Not naming names though.**

**Ever read Edgar Allan Poe? The stuff he wrote is really disturbing.**

**You know, I sort of feel ashamed that a full chapter takes only 1 or 2 days for me to finish and proofread. I've recently found it harder to focus on them, and so I've been procrastinating for over a month. Imagine: How far would this story be if I had kept writing?**

**I got my Dad's lazy ass…**


	15. Chpt 15: Mon Ami

**The 'Assassin' Fanfiction: Half of it's a great story, the other half is author notes.**

**Trivia: Someone told me this fiction would be better if I changed it into a lemon… he was serious. After I declined him, he flamed me for three days. He only stopped because I added him to the 'Block Users' list.**

* * *

**Abandoned Subway**

Only a few lights weren't shattered during the fight that took place down here a week ago. At the flip of a switch, they flickered and the room was weakly lit up. Even though it was hard to see, the dozens of crevices, craters, and concrete slabs were still easily visible. They were everywhere.

A crowd of low-ranking fairy tale members speed-walked into the subway and began looking around. Every one of them were dressed in a western business suit. Following them was one higher ranked member.

"Gahaha! They _really_ went at it didn't they?" A small 40-year-old man said in an impish voice. Unlike the other men with him, he wore a fancy looking suit made of silk that had a tan color scheme, showing that he was of higher class. While his cloths looked very expensive, he was a very unappealing man. He wasn't just short, but his left eye was slightly larger than his right, his hair and face were greasy, and he had a tendency to snort. He was a slime of a man with a lot of money, and his family had been in the mob for a long time.

"Mr. Princip," a grunt yelled in alarm, "over here." He pointed at a small puddle of black shadowy substance on the concrete floor.

Gavrilo Princip, the small man with a lot of authority, slowly walked over to Alistair's remains. It was brimming with demonic energy. "Well I'll be damned…" he said in a piggish voice, "the babe really beat him!"

One of the men brought out a steel canister. "The overseer said he wanted as much as we can get." he said. A few other men brought out shovels, careful not to touch the substance. Unlike an unnatural creature like Dythe, it would probably kill them.

Gavrilo looked down at what was left of Alistair. "Hah! I _told you_ there was nothing you could do!" He had the strongest urge to spit on the black puddle, but he knew that the overseer wouldn't like him contaminating it. "You should have listened to me and minded your own business, Alistair."

The low-ranking members finished putting Alistair's remains into the canister. The group of them picked up and left the subway.

XXX

**Town Sidewalk – Morning Time**

It was a perfect day again. The sun was shining and the sky was completely light blue. Akuha didn't care about the weather though. Instead, she sat on a wooden bench under an average-sized tree along the sidewalk, getting some shade. At the moment, she was dressed the outfit she usually wore for battle, as well as the necklace she grew accustomed to wearing. It had been washed over at Tsukune's house a while ago and he hadn't worn it again until now.

Akuha leaned forward, clasping her hands together and resting her elbows on her knees. She was sitting at the bus stop where Tsukune would be picked up and brought to Yōkai Academy a short time from now. "Tsuk leaves town in two days." Akuha murmured to herself. She knew she would have to follow Tsukune closely, yet secretively when the time comes. Losing track of him was out of the question, and it would seem strange if she asked to get on the bus with him, even as a friend.

A raven suddenly flew into the tree above Akuha. The leaves were very dense and hid the raven quite well. Suddenly, Talia leapt down from a thick branch on the tree, landing in right front of Akuha while crouched down.

Akuha didn't stand up, flinch, or make any kind of movement, save for calmly looking at the messenger. "Talia?"

Talia stood up and brushed her long hair back gracefully. Her outfit seemed to be very differently from the one she was wearing two days ago. In place of the eloquent Victorian dress, she wore tennis shoes, tight thigh-high stockings, a mini skirt, and a tank top, all of which were pitch-black except for the tennis shoes, which were black-and-white. She also retained the fancy black hair-band on her head as well as the diamond necklace. The clothes she wore, save for jewelry, were technically morphed feathers. Lecorjamasi possessed the power to change their feathers into almost any outfit they please. Their ability however did have many limitations. Their feathers could not change color, remaining only black or white. They also couldn't form anything protective for a fight, and could only be used for show. "Bon de vous voir, my friend." Talia said, casually folding her arms behind her back.

"We're not friends." Akuha said in a no-nonsense tone.

Rather than taking offence, Talia just giggled deviously.

Akuha bent her head downwards. "You know… your constant giggling is really getting on my nerves…" she said in a frustrated tone.

Talia just smiled and shrugged.

"Anyways, I doubt you've come here to make small talk." Akuha finally got off the bench and stood up straight. "Just get to the point already."

Talia tilted her head and frowned. She apparently wanted to have some fun first. "You can be such a chienne sometimes." she muttered softly.

Akuha noticeably clenged her fists. "And what exactly is that?" she asked in an ill temper. She was in a grouchy mood today.

Talia looked away at the sky and grinned, as if trying to play 'innocent'. "Oh… nothing," she said with a laugh, "nothing at all."

Akuha rolled her eyes.

"Anyways…" Talia said as she put her hands on her hips, "The overseer wanted me to pass on some orders to you."

"Bout' time." Akuha stared blankly at Talia, bracing for whatever the orders were. She knew it was obviously regarding Tsukune. Was she supposed to follow him to his school?

"It's been decided that you've watched him for long enough." Talia leaned forward, bending down and putting her hands on her knees. "You are to take-" The sound of a car horn suddenly honked loudly behind her. She turned her head with a curious look.

Two jocks sitting in a hoodless crimson car, parked on the other side of the street, had honked at them to get their attention. Two usually pretty girls were hard for a guy to miss.

Akuha sighed and folded her arms. "This is why I like to avoid public areas."

Talia looked back at Akuha. "Why must you always be that way?" She said standing upright. "You're a woman like I am. Try to act more feminine."

"No thanks." Akuha answered with a stubborn face.

"You should at least give it a try."

"Tried it once. It didn't work out." The phrase 'didn't work' was a massive understatement.

One of the teenaged boys across the street began to shout in their direction. "Hey babes! Over here!" he yelled.

Talia turned around on her heel and stretched her right arm into the air, waving at the boys. "Yoooooohoooooo!" she called out youthfully and girlishly.

Akuha grabbed Talia by her left arm and began to pull her down the sidewalk.

Talia dropped her right arm and nearly stumbled as she tried to follow Akuha. "Oh? We're going already? Okay." she said happily.

"Wait, come back!" The jocks yelled, "You're not seriously leaving!"

After a minute or two, Akuha eventually lead Talia to a narrow alleyway and stopped. The sun shined straight in the alleyway, but there was no one around to watch or overhear them.

"If you wanted to go somewhere private, you could've just said so." Talia said as she yanked her arm back.

Akuha turned and made a poker face at the messenger. "You were more focused on those boys than telling me what my orders were."

Talia shrugged casually. "I really don't see what the big rush is," she said, "you've got two whole days before Yōkai Academy starts again." She put her hands on her hips and took a cross-legged pose. "Besides, guys don't get to see sexy girls like you or me everyday."

"That doesn't mean that we can forget the task given to us." Akuha said with a cold look, "We're both apart of Fairy Tale, one of the world's most powerful Yōkai organizations."

Talia tilted her head forward. "You say that, but I recall all the goofing off you admitted to doing before I got here."

Akuha leaned forward aggressively. "I was spying on Tsuk just as I was ordered to!"

Talia's smile widened. "Keep telling yourself that."

Akuha's knuckles made a cracking noise as she tightened them. She was well aware of her own short temper and had learned to control it, but only when she wanted to. She never really liked Talia and wouldn't have minded punching her in the face. Something about her constant giggling and feminine behavior felt incredibly irritating. She was different from Kahlua, whom was childish, but still well behaved and careful not to upset anyone. Although Akuha wasn't the best judge of character, she was almost certain that Talia knew her own behavior aggravated the assassin, and yet still did them anyways. Akuha was even willing to bet that Talia acted this way directly _because_ of this.

"Listen Akuha," Talia's happy smile changed to a compassionate one. "You are a vampire, a killer, an assassin, but don't forget that you're still a woman."

Akuha just made a suspicious look. "Talia is a little persuasive for a mere messenger." she thought privately, "Or… maybe it's just me…" she shook her head and dismissed her previous thought, "Why must I be suspicious of _everyone_ I talk to?"

Talia noticed the brainstorming Akuha was making. "What could you possibly be thinking so hard over?" she asked with a friendly smile, "Wondering why you don't often trust others?"

"There it is again…" Akuha thought, "She always seems to know what I'm thinking about." Could Talia really read her that easily? Maybe, but it couldn't be some kind of mind-reading spell. Vampires were immune to any magic that affects the mind. "Wait, I'm thinking about suspicions again."

Talia lightly brought her hand up at chest-level and waved it a little. "Enough about this," she said, putting her arm back down, "You wanted to hear the overseer's orders, is that correct?"

"Yes, it is." Akuha leaned her back against the brick wall. "You told me that I've watched Tsuk for long enough," she said facing the wall across from her, "and then that's when those jocks interrupted you."

Talia nodded. "Indeed." Her purple eyes made a glance at Akuha's necklace. "The overseer wants you to kidnap the boy and bring him back with you."

"Huh?" Akuha looked over at Talia as if taken aback. Since she knew what Talia was about to say, why then did she feel so surprised?

Talia's 'always-happy' expression faded, becoming calm and collected. "And what's with that shocked look you're making?" she said, casting an ominous stare. "Are you afraid to hurt the boy?"

"Uh…" Akuha paused with a puzzled look on her face. She still didn't know what the overseer was after, and had hoped that he would want Tsukune captured rather than killed. Akuha's common sense told her it was unlikely, but simply hoping otherwise let her sleep quietly each night. While she was relieved that Tsukune would only be abducted, she had probably hoped she would not hurt him in any way too many times. "I don't know what you're talking about," Akuha lied, "I've been stuck in this town for so long. I'm just eager for something to happen, that's all." She lightly pushed off from the brick wall she was leaning against, standing in the middle of the alleyway again.

Talia kept her eyes locked on Akuha, maintaining her ominous gaze. "That's all?" she asked, "You don't care about the boy?"

Akuha felt her stare fall to the ground below her. She did care about him. She didn't deny it, and even admitted it to Moka and Kurumu. However, that didn't mean she was about to share it with Talia. "Yeah I… I don't care about him."

Talia began to slowly pace around Akuha. "That's right, you _don't_ care about him. Why would you? He's human." She stood behind Akuha and whispered to her, "You told me yourself many times: you hate humans, you loath them, you _despise_ them." She circled back in front of Akuha. "Don't you?"

Akuha finally looked up again. Talia stood there staring at her, waiting for an answer. And what was her answer? It was blatantly obvious that she hated humans for what they did to her during her childhood, but yet she liked Tsukune. Why? Whenever she thought of him, she thought of _only him_ and not what race he belonged to.

"Well? Don't you?" Talia asked, "You couldn't possibly have a problem with these orders. You're abducting a being that disgusts you, on the behalf of an origination you've worked so hard for."

Akuha slowly nodded her head, still looking a little confused. She was one of Fairy Tale's most dedicated members. She had always obeyed every order and never made any open objection. "But Tsuk is-" she began.

"He's as human as they come." Talia's smile grew colder and more malevolent, "Provided he doesn't become a mindless ghoul, he is still, and will always be…" she bent forward, her hair casting a partial shadow over her face, "_human_…"

That word made Akuha cringe a little. "Human?" It was obvious that Talia was mocking her, rubbing the predicament in her face. She suddenly made a stern look at the messenger. "So is there anything _else_ the overseer wants?" Akuha asked nastily.

"Hmm…" Talia put her finger to her chin, making a sarcastic 'thinking' look. "No, nothing else really comes to mind." Her usual expression suddenly returned, looking both cheerful and friendly again.

"Good." Akuha suddenly slapped Talia across the face with a loud 'smack'.

"Oww!" Talia yelped as she fumbled to the ground.

Akuha glared at the messenger, whom lay facedown. "You had that coming, speaking to a vampire in such a way." she said. Moka almost certainly would have instead uttered the phrase 'know your place', but Akuha was ill tempered rather than prideful. She could care less about 'looking down on lesser beings', but would easily be set off if ridiculed or taunted. She turned around and began to walk down the alley. "I'm going to have a long talk with the overseer when I get back," she mumbled quietly, "why go through all this trouble just too…" She suddenly froze wide-eyed, remembering what her orders were.

Talia struggled to her knees. A noticeable red mark was now on her cheek. Oddly, she still seemed to be smiling happily. "Bonne chance, mon ami," she said in a charming manner, "and do try to have fun, will you."

Akuha turned her head, feeling too overwhelmed by her orders to feel pissed again.

"Those miserable humans deserve to die, right?" Talia said. Despite her harsh words, her appearance still gave a gentle, harmless, and kind impression. "You once told me that, remember?"

Akuha broke off into a run. She didn't want to hear another one of _her own _words.

Talia slowly stood up as the assassin disappeared around the corner. "Heh, I would be very disappointed if she _didn't_ hit me." She put her hands on her hips and crossed her legs. "Run, assassin… run to your heart's content… " she said softly, "in the end… you, with all your strength… will not escape your own emotions," Talia looked down at her own diamond necklace, "_Nevermore_…"

XXX

Akuha continued running, running down the sidewalk with blinding speed. She was probably attracting a lot of unwanted attention, as no normal person could run this fast, but she just didn't care. She wanted to run away from it all. She wanted to forget about her duties and go back to spending time with Moka, Tsukune, and their friends.

Akuha finally came to a stop to catch her breath. "I'm so stupid!" she shouted, banging her fist on a brick fence next to her on the sidewalk, "What the hell is wrong with me!" A few pedestrians turned and looked at her, noticing her not because of her shouting, but because of the large fracture she made on the brick fence. "Oops…" Akuha turned her head and looked around, she was standing in front of a fast food restaurant. Her eyes widened suddenly widened when she realized: this was the very place where she first met Tsukune.

"Truth is, I'm new to this town," Akuha had remembered saying, "I was hoping someone could show me around."

Akuha fell on her knees, lost and confused. It had only been two short weeks, and yet so much had happened. Meeting Tsukune, facing danger with him, getting to know him…

"I trust you," Tsukune had said to her, "I trust you because I've come to understand what kind of person you are. I know you would make the right choice."

"You hate humans, you loath them, you _despise_ them," Talia had said to her, "Tsukune is as human as they come. He is still, and will always be… _human_…"

Akuha grasped her hair, facing the ground below her. So was coming close to screaming out loud. She couldn't get Tsukune's words out of her head. She couldn't get Talia's words out of her head. What they both said to her echoed again and again. No matter how Akuha looked at the situation, they were both right.

"Tsukune trusts me and I like him. I hate humans and he's one of them." Akuha thought in her head, "Hell, I even plotted to _destroy_ the entire human race seven years ago." she paused at that thought, "But why did I not go through with it?" The answer was obvious. While she was willing to go any lengths to get what she needed, killing another vampire, she choose not to for the sake of her little sister. "That's different! Moka is not human. She's a vampire like I am, we're blood related! Harming Tsuk isn't anything like-" Akuha felt a brief gasp. "Moka loved Akasha, her mother. Moka cares about Tsuk, her… friend?" After observing Moka and Tsukune spending time together, it looked as if their desire to become more than friends was mutual. "I _can't_ do this. I choose not to hurt my sister before and I wont now." The feeling that she was being overly sentimental began to throw her into doubt. She remembered that she was still a high-ranking member of a powerful Yōkai organization. She had thrown years of her life into Fairy Tale's service. Seven years ago, her hands weren't dirtied in such a way. Today, she had long since walked down this path, far past the point of no return. To add to all of this, refusing to follow orders wouldn't prevent harm from coming to Tsukune at all. He was dead the very second the overseer pegged him as a target. "Fairy Tale would send someone else to retrieve him and nothing would be different, save for the consequences of my defiance." Her feelings told her 'no', but her logic told her 'yes'.

Akuha wiped her face. "What's this? Tears?" She was crying. She had been crying since she began running. "Ridiculous! Someone like me… crying?" Much like how she never found a challenging fight in years, she had never cried in many years either. "It's only been two short weeks," she said with a slight weep "and yet… so much has happened." She wished she had never met Tsukune. The problem spying him is that she found out everything there was to know about him. She got to know him, she came to understand him, and that only made things worse in the end. It's so much easier to hurt someone you don't know a thing about.

XXX

**Elsewhere in Town – 7:00 PM**

Tsukune walked out of the marketplace, his hands full with grocery bags. His mother was being overworked, and still too tired to go to the store. At least Father would be returning tomorrow, just one day before school starts again.

"I guess it's back home I go…" Tsukune said jadedly. The days were starting to get systematic and boring again. He would have reapplied for a part-time job if school wasn't rearing its head at him.

The walk back home was as ordinary as ever, passing by the same familiar stores, restaurants, and people. When Tsukune was halfway through the residential part of the town, near the neighborhood he lived in, he heard a loud sound behind him. It was as if someone had dropped out of the sky and landed.

Tsukune spun around and found himself face to face with Akuha.

"Hey…" Akuha said in a dull tone. She just stood there and looked at him.

"Hey Akuha, you scared me." Tsukune said, "I haven't seen you since the others left." He made a closer look at Akuha face. While she wore the same 'tough' expression she usually did, her face gave hits that she had been crying earlier. "Is there something wrong Akuha? What happened?"

Akuha just looked into his eyes for a moment, not saying anything. "I don't know how to tell you this Tsukune," she said, breaking the silence, "but there's a lot more to me than I originally let on."

Tsukune blinked curiously. Akuha didn't often call him by his name, in place of the nickname 'Tsuk'. This probably wasn't a joke.

"The truth is…" Akuha pulled out some kind of dart from her pocket, "I'm a member of a powerful Yōkai organization and I've been spying on you from the start."

"Wha… what?" Tsukune said. Maybe this was a joke after all. "That's not very funny. Besides, don't you think this is a bit sudden?"

Akuha made a slight nod. Being baffled by this was quite understandable. Tsukune goes out to buy groceries for his mom, and then a friend comes out of nowhere and tells him that she's been spying on him. While strange, Akuha didn't know how else to approach this situation. She had always been the straightforward type, preferring to take conversations head-on rather than being subtle.

Tsukune eyed the dart Akuha held, starting to feel uneasy.

Akuha suddenly threw the dart forward, stabbing right into Tsukune's chest. Akuha then lightly palm-struck him in the face, careful not to injure him badly. Whatever was in the dart made him feel woozy, and the strike to the face finished off what little fatigue he had left. He began to fall backwards, blanking out. Akuha zoomed around behind him and caught him by his arms.

Akuha looked down at Tsukune, whom fell into a deep sleep. "At least my orders weren't to kill him," Akuha said, "just capture…" She made a quick glance at the crescent moon above her, and departed. That's just how it happened. No tear-jerking confessions and no denying any affections. That wouldn't be like her. She felt guilt _before_ she acted, told the truth blandly, and then took Tsukune away without another word.

This wasn't the first time Akuha had grown fond of one of her targets. She had occasionally met some likable people in the past, before killing them of course. Sure, she would feel disturbed for a few days, but eventually she would forget all about them. It seemed that Tsukune would be another name to add to that small list. She would get over him like she did the others… wouldn't she?

XXX

**Yōkai Academy – Two Days Later**

A sealed Moka slowly walked through the forest of dead trees, wearing her green school uniform and holding a suitcase in front of her with both hands. Reaching a clearing at the end of the forest pathway, she stopped to take in the view of the school she had grown quite fond of. Steady streams of students in their school uniforms were slowly flooding into the large blue and white buildings further ahead in the clearing.

Moka smiled and made a slight hurry forward. "It's good to be back." she said. She treasured the time she spent here and was happy to return. Sometimes things got harsh, but in the end, everything turned out all right. While she didn't like all the trouble she and her friends got into, the incidents they got stuck in usually helped bring them closer together after they overcame it.

"Hey, Moka…" said a stoic voice behind her.

Moka stopped halfway to the academy and turned around. "Oh, hey Mizore." she said, bringing her hand up and waving slightly.

"So…" Mizore spoke in a calm expression, "have you seen the others by any chance?" She brought her right index finger against the handle of the lollipop in her mouth, playing around with it. "Namely… Tsukune?"

Moka smiled and shook her head. It hadn't even been a week since they had seen Tsukune. Mizore certainly didn't like being away from him. "No, not yet." Moka said. The two of them began to move again, walking together towards the school. Ahead of them, Yukari waved at them from a doorway.

"Over here!" Yukari yelled.

XXX

It wasn't long before they were seated in their classroom. They found Kurumu already there, and said hello. Like they always did, Moka sat in the back row next to the window and Kurumu sat next to her. The seat in front of Moka however, was empty.

"It's not like him to miss the first day of school…" Kurumu said with a concerned look.

"Don't worry," Moka said, looking at Tsukune's seat in front of her, "I'm sure he's probably just late. The bus is busy on the first day of school after all."

Time practically flew as the clock rotated hour after hour. Tsukune still didn't seem to show up. He didn't arrive after class, he was nowhere to be found during lunch, and he never came to the newspaper clubroom.

After escaping a group of guys that tried to hit on her, Moka went off on her own to the school's front courtyard. She was really beginning to worry now. She was sure that Tsukune was looking forward to returning to school, yet he wasn't here. Could more of those unruly characters like Griggs, Sheckley, or Alistair be out there? Moka dreaded that thought. She just wanted to be left alone with her friends and enjoy another year of school.

Moka slowly walked back into the forest surrounding the academy. It was a different pathway from the one she walked through earlier. She wasn't really trying to go anywhere. She just felt restless and anxious.

Her eyes widened in realization of where she found herself standing. A graveyard near the school, it was the same place where she met Tsukune for the first time. Well… where she crashed her bike into him anyways. "Thank goodness for that," Moka said in a tender voice, "if he had moved out of the way, I don't think we would ever have gotten to be such great friends." The sound of a dried leaf cracking was suddenly heard behind a nearby tree. Moka quickly turned and looked. "Who's there?" she said, "Tsu… Tsukune?"

Another sound of movement was heard. Moka wasn't alone. Worse, it felt like she was surrounded.

An impish man in a silky tan suit walked up from behind Moka. "Good afternoon young lady." The small man said.

From behind the trees, a number much stronger looking men wearing business suits came out and gathered around. A few of them seemed to be holding weapons such as maces and scimitars.

Moka froze in fear. She didn't know who these guys were or what they wanted, but it was obvious they weren't here to make friends. Her eyes fell upon a sharp blade one of the goons held. It felt exactly like that day seven years ago, the day she first met Akuha-neesan. She had been surrounded by mobsters that intended to kill her for reasons she didn't understand. One of them had a sharp blade just like the one before her right now. She could almost imagine the goon licking the blade with a long, snake-like tongue.

"Don't be too rough with the little princess," the small man said too his goons, "the boss wants her in one piece." He made a repulsive, crooked smile. "Unshaken and unharmed."

XXX

To be continued in next chapter.

* * *

**Was this chapter a little corny? To me, it kind of felt like it was. I don't know, people have told me I'm hard to impress, even with my **_**own**_** content.**

**Fallout 3 Joke: ****Who is indisputably the most important person in Vault 101? He who shelters us from the harshness of the atomic wasteland, and to whom we owe everything we have, including our lives?**

**A. The Overseer**

**B. The Overseer**

**C. The Overseer**

**D. The Overseer**

**Choose your answer wisely!**


	16. Chpt 16: Knight

**At Last, a new chapter! You know what that means: author notes and over-explanatory blocks of text!**

* * *

**Massive Blimp**

Fairy Tale had an impressive arsenal of transports. They had everything that went from trained wyverns, to helicopters, and to giant blimps. Their massive blimps were some of the most commonly used by their organization. They were enchanted to be invisible to the naked eye, they made good mobile bases, they could carry a lot, and they moved steadily.

In the same dimly lit room where the overseer gave Akuha her mission, Talia sat at the same wooden table, across from her was a dark figure, the overseer.

Talia feathers were morphed into the eloquent Victorian dress again. She only changed her feathers to mimic modern wares in places where it made sense, such as a public mall in the human world.

The overseer however bore a very simple appearance, dressed only in a black cloak that covered his entire body. Under the his hood were a pair of glowing yellow eyes, similar to Tenmei Mikogami's glowing white eyes. Although the two leaders were not acquainted, such eyes suggested that they were similar Yōkai species,

Talia had asked the overseer to a game of chess, which he politely accepted. Talia requested games with her associates quite often, particularly with the higher-ranked members. It was her favorite activity during pastime, and her father, whoever he was, was rumored to be quite brilliant at it.

"It'll only be a matter of time before Akuha turns on us." The overseer said, lifting one of his black knights and placing it on the board again.

Talia analyzed the chess bored, baring a calm and tranquil expression rather than a cheerful or ominous one. "You mean before she finds out you ordered the abduction of her sister?" Talia took one of her white rooks and moved it to her far-left.

"The 'Black Devil' is useful, but expendable." The overseer eyed one of his knights. "Tossing her aside will be a necessary loss for a greater gain." The overseer moved his queen forward.

"But perhaps you underestimate her?" A mischievous smile grew on Talia's face. "With respect, I think you don't fully understand what's she's capable of." She lifted one of her white knights. "She's is like a knight, powerful as they come." She reached over and brought the knight above the overseer's side of the board, much further than it was allowed to go. "There may be stronger pieces, but her movements are unique. She is the most difficult to read and predict," she knocked over the overseer's black king with the knight, "and she is a very exceptional knight, always bending the rules in unexpected ways." She made a gesture at the overseer's trampled king. "Just like that."

The overseer picked up his black king and set it back where it was. "Chess has rules, you know," he said irritated, "you would do well to follow them."

Talia nodded and reverted to a calm, collected expression. "Indeed. That _would_ be against the rules. This is a game after all." She moved the white knight back where it originally was. "But such rules are what separate a game from real life." Her index finger lightly pressed down on the knight. "In real life, there are but so many pieces that may break the rules," her finger trailed over to a pawn and lightly pressed on it, "any pawn could suddenly turn on its master," she picked up one of her bishops and placed on another square, making a light tapping noise, "and if you're careless," she glared into the overseer's eyes ominously, "check…"

The overseer moved one of his own knights in the way, blocking Talia's bishop from the black king.

"Ah, so that's how it is then?" Talia made a friendly smile again. Not an energized expression, but a pleasant one. "You see that as a necessary sacrifice?"

"And what if it is? Are you showing concern for the assassin?"

Talia put her hand over her mouth, suddenly giggling quite loudly. "Tell me, master," she quieted down and looked straight at the overseer, "are you sure that _everything_ will go as you predicted?"

The overseer calmly clasped his hands together. "I've plotted out every move today, I know exactly what to expect from Akuha, and I've anticipated every possible outcome." While his face couldn't be seen, it was obvious he was smiling under his hood.

Talia held a similar expression of confidence. "Every move? Every outcome?" She looked down at her white knight again. "Does that include the presence of an unexpected outside anomaly?" Her view trailed over to a bishop, then to a rook, and then to her queen. "There are many more than just two pieces at the start of every game."

"What are you trying to say?" The overseer said as his eyes darkened, "Has the assassin made a friend I'm not aware of?" He didn't mean Kurumu, Mizore, or Yukari. He was aware of their presence and knew they wouldn't pose a threat.

"I'm not saying anything," Talia reached forward and picked up her white knight yet again, "Akuha doesn't have any _friends_ that you're not aware of."

XXX

**Metal Cell**

Tsukune simply lay on the floor, his legs and wrists weren't bound, but he was stuck here nonetheless. He had woken up in a completely empty room, just a small steel cell with a semi-green lighting to it. While a loaf of bread and bottle of water would occasionally be dropped through the small slit in the wall, Tsukune would never see anyone face to face. While he felt a little scared for himself, he was much more confused. He was much too curious of who these people were to be frightened of what they might do to him. If they were planning on killing him, they probably would have done it already.

Tsukune sat up and put his back against the wall. How long has he been stuck in here? It felt like days. Never seeing the sun rising or falling played tricks on his mind. It could've been only one day or a whole week for all he knew.

"Honestly, I don't know what's going on anymore!" Tsukune said out loud. Being alone for so long was beginning to drive him a little crazy. He glanced down at his wrist. There was a second lock added to the chains he wore. Somehow, it kept him from activating his ghoul powers whenever he tried.

He was trapped in here and not able to do anything about it, and so all Tsukune could do was think. Where was he? Who were his captors? What did they want from him? Who knows? Maybe this was an organization dedicated to keeping humans and yōkai segregated? He remembered the Student Police Force back at school, and how determined Kuyou was to enforce his beliefs. "Humans and yōkai can never co-exist!" Kuyou had said. It seemed like a reasonable guess. It was a very prevailing viewpoint. Or maybe this was an anti-human organization? Akuha may have said a thing or two on that subject.

"Did it slip out that I'm human?" Tsukune asked himself. His mind played back the last thing Akuha said to him before he blanked out.

'The truth is… I'm a member of a powerful yōkai organization and I've been spying on you from the start.' Akuha had said that so ordinarily. So she was with these mystery guys?

"I thought we were friends." Tsukune leaned his head over. "Does she not want me around Moka or something?" So many strange events he couldn't explain were happening left and right, and that was saying a lot considering what the norm was considered. Dythe, Alistair, and now whatever group Akuha was affiliated with. "What's next?" he sarcastically said, "Am I going to find out that my parents were vampires too all along?" Being stuck in this room felt like the punch line to a bad joke, but at least he was in this mess by himself. "I'll just have to wait this out." he told himself.

What Tsukune felt most confused about was Akuha. She acted tough and little pessimistic, but she was also sociable and very bright. She seemed like a good person overall, but kidnapping him like this changed everything. Tsukune no longer trusted her, but he still felt inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she was simply following orders? It seemed like she was careful not to hurt him. But what did it say about her if she's with these creeps? What kind of work was she into?

Tsukune loafed over and lay on his back again. "Even if there _is_ more to Akuha than she told me, I still doubt she'd let this end before telling me what this is all about."

XXX

**Massive Blimp**

Long rows of Fairy Tale operatives lined both sides of the linear hallway. Every one of them stood at attention, saluting Akuha silently as she walked by. Akuha neither said anything to them nor look at them. She just held a disciplined, threatening look on her face as she walked by.

"Hello, assassin." an impish voice said behind her.

Akuha slowly turned halfway, maintaining the tough look on her face.

Gavrilo Princip stood in the middle of the long hallways, followed by three bodyguards that towered over him. "Word has it that someone we all know and love had a run for her money during her last assignment." he said, making his signature crooked smile.

"I'm not in the mood, Gavrilo." Akuha said, "If I wanted to hear your drivel I would have beaten it out of you myself." She turned back the way she was going. She usually never talked to Gavrilo as he degusted her. She didn't even want to _touch_ him, hence why she decided not to waste a punch if at all possible. Pretending that the boastful weakling didn't exist was the only way she could put up with him.

"Hold on just a moment," Gavrilo said as he scratched his left armpit, "Now exactly who could have given the great 'Black Devil' so much trouble? I thought you were supposed to be invincible."

Akuha stopped and turned around furiously. What exactly was going on here? No one, not even superior rank, had ever tried talking down to her before.

"After every one of those-" Gavrilo was interrupted as Akuha suddenly bolted forward and grabbed him by his suit's collar.

"Well, aren't you talking big?" Akuha said as she lifted him off the floor. It took little to no irritation to provoke her.

Gavrilo's arrogant expression instantly faded to a fear-struck one. He didn't expect Akuha to attack him so quickly. "What do you think you're doing?" he choked out, "I outrank you, you're not supposed to-" he made a muffled cough as Akuha tightened her grip.

"You're position in this organization doesn't mean s*** to me." Akuha brought Gavrilo up to eye-level. "I've got you, someone of superior rank, by the neck. What are you going to do about it?"

Gavrilo's eyes rolled to the side, looking at his three bodyguards behind him.

"That's what I thought." Akuha said. She suddenly tossed the small man down the hall. Gavrilo's bodyguards scrambled out of the way, letting him fly right between their shoulders.

"Arrrgggghh!" Gavrilo yelped as he crashed and tumbled against the floor.

Akuha glared at Gavrilo's three bodyguards. "Well? I just harassed a fellow superior." She made a cold look at them. "Aren't you going to put me in my place?"

The three men just stood there nervously.

"What are you waiting for?" Gavrilo coughed out as he lay on the floor, "Teach her a lesson."

Akuha looked over at the men against the walls. A few of them began to cringe and lean back. Not one of them would dare attack her.

Feeling satisfied, Akuha turned again and resumed traveling down the hallway. She grasped the handle of a door at the end of the hall. "I'm going to get some rest," she turned a shoulder at an uneasy servant behind her, "Don't let _anyone_ near my room."

"Yes, very well." The servant bowed and hurried away.

Akuha strode into her private quarters and shut the door behind her. She fell backwards against the door and rested her back against it. "Back to the old status quo…" She took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. Before long, she would likely return to her usual line of work. "Yippee…" she said sarcastically.

Akuha looked around her room. It was no different from the way she left it, not that she expected otherwise. Her room contained only a bed, a couch, a dresser, and a small table. Simple, just the way she preferred it.

A soft whining sound was suddenly heard from under the bed. As Akuha took a few steps forward, a dog crawled out.

"Huh?" Akuha said as she looked up.

The dog walked towards her in a hurry. He made a weak jump, bringing his front legs up, and tried to lick Akuha.

"Earl Grey!" Akuha yelled excitedly, spreading her arms out to hug her dog. Seeing Earl after almost three weeks somehow lifted her spirits quite a bit. "I'm back!" she said to the dog, "I happened to see Moka while I was gone! I wish you could've been there."

Earl made a loud bark at the mentioning of Akuha's younger sister.

After scratching Earl's chin a little, Akuha took a seat on the couch. Earl hopped onto the couch as well and sat down next to her.

Akuha looked down at Earl. "Thing's got a little dangerous this time," she said to Earl as she began to pet him, "in fact, it was the first time in a _long_ time since I had actually struggled in a fight." She turned her head and faced forward. She wasn't looking at anything in particular. Instead, she was letting her mind wander. "Not once, but _twice_ I came across a powerful foe. I got into some serious trouble here and there." She glanced back at Earl and ticked him on the neck. "But it was worth it. I'd even fight all those guys again if I had to," she began to blush, "because I got to see Moka after it was over."

Earl made a soft 'woof' in reply.

"Yeah," Akuha felt herself make a short chuckle, "I can see you hadn't forgotten about her either." She patted Earl on the head once more and pulled her hand back. It had been nine years since she had first seen Earl. He was only a puppy at the time, a guard dog in training at the Shuzen Household. While they didn't get off to a great start, they had gradually warmed up to each other.

XXX

After taking a long sizzling bath, Akuha got dressed into a white undershirt and a black Chinese cheongsam. The steady growl her stomach made suggested it was due time she had something to eat. While she could easily order food to be delivered to her room, she decided to just go get it herself. She was anything but lazy, and she felt a bit impatient today. Ever since saying goodbye to Moka, she seemed to be stuck in a bad mood. All the same, she headed over to the ship's dining lobby alone.

Akuha took a seat on a fine cushioned chair and stared down at the glass table in front of her. Quickly, a servant placed a tall wineglass onto the table and left. Without a word or thought, Akuha took the glass and drank the human blood in it. "I don't remember this place feeling so bleak." She mumbled. Perhaps fooling around all day everyday for an entire week has spoiled her. She felt a little agitated too. After returning to the airship, she felt disrespect everywhere she went. People still bowed, saluted, and followed orders, but the way they looked at her seemed a little… "I know from the bottom of my gut that they're keeping something from me." Earlier she had secretly beaten a guard in hopes of getting answers, but he didn't seem to know anything. Maybe she could try interrogating someone else.

"Akuha Shuzen," Talia said from the other side of the table, "I've been meaning to speak with you." Her feathers were morphed into her usual black dress.

Akuha looked up. "Back off." She said. On second thought, maybe Talia was the exact person to go to for information. "Speak of the devil…"

Talia studied Akuha, as if evaluating her expression. "Don't worry, I'm not here to try your patience," Talia said, gripping her hands together as they hung down, "I'm well aware of what happened to Gavrilo earlier today, and I dare say," she let out a short giggle, "that must have been quite entertaining."

Akuha nodded with a weak grin. At least they found some common ground. "Well, yeah. That stupid fob had it coming." Maybe just chatting with someone could get her mind off the stress she was feeling. "His only use to Fairy Tale is his money. He wouldn't be so high up if it weren't for all the funding."

"Without a doubt." Talia said, tilting her head to the right, "I hate that kind of man. He confuses personal power with his own abilities." She put a finger to her chin, making a pondering gesture. "He's grown quite arrogant don't you think? Bringing those strong bodyguards with him everywhere he goes."

"You acted fairly stuck-up around me too, just three days ago."

Talia shrugged. "I did nothing of the sort." She innocently looked away. "I did not scorn nor ridicule you. I merely made a small remark of what you already knew." She made a quick glance down at the chair next to her. "Mind if I?" Talia asked.

"I don't really care." Akuha picked up the wineglass and slowly began drinking all the blood in a single go.

Talia made a polite bow and took a seat.

"So, what are you so eager to talk about?" Akuha said as she wiped her mouth on her sleeve.

Talia smiled. "The overseer."

Akuha's expression grew noticeably darker. "Alright, I'm listening."

"I hoped you'd be intrigued." Talia said, holding her head up, "By any chance, did he tell you what your whole trip was for?"

Akuha shook her head. "No, he just gave me a bunch of half-assed answers and assured me it'd become clear later on."

"As he always does, right?" Talia leaned back and put one leg over the other. "He keeps a little too many secrets, don't you agree? From you, from me-"

"From everyone." Akuha interrupted her.

"Yes, indeed. He always has something going on behind our backs." Talia glanced over at a group of men, seated at another table in the room. "Have you noticed that the other members have been acting a little strange?"

"You mean that they're up to something? They've been looking at me as if I were an outsider."

Akuha quieted down as the same servant from earlier returned to their table. He courteously placed a plate of strawberry cake and a cup of hot tea in front of Talia.

Talia made a silent 'thank-you' gesture to the servant before he turned and left again. "So," she looked back at Akuha, "the guards have displayed impertinence to you too?

Her too? Akuha felt taken aback. She was certain that Talia would be taking part in whatever the overseer was up to. "You don't know what they're in on?" she asked carefully.

"No. Whatever it is, he's devoted a lot of effort to ensure that _neither of us_ find out." Talia took a sip from her teacup. "In fact, this is where we can help each other."

Akuha folded her arms. "What do you propose?" The possibility that this was a setup occurred to her, but it was better than sitting around and doing nothing.

"The overseer has ordered the capture of another prisoner," Talia's smile faded, "only he refuses to tell me whom he… or she is."

"Continue." Akuha said, curious to where Talia was going with this.

"I don't know why, but the prisoner is being moved to the loading bay in about ten minutes." Talia tapped a finger against the table. "You can use the Jigen-Tou technique to phase through walls, correct?"

"Well, I could but…" Akuha stared down at her open palms, "one wrong move and I could fall through the floor and out of the ship, or I may pop back into existence while in a wall." She tightened her hands into fists. "I haven't fully mastered the technique yet, but I'm damned close. I would need maybe one or two more months of practice."

"Even so, you can do it," Talia said, shifting to an ominous expression, "can't you?"

"It shouldn't be a problem. It's not like I'll be under pressure." Akuha said, leaning forward on the table, "So let me guess. You want me to sneak in and see who the second prisoner is?"

Talia nodded. "It's as simple and easy as that."

Akuha made a dissatisfied look.

Talia made an 'I-don't-know' motion. "Hey, I know it's not much, but it's a start." She placed her hands lightly onto the table. "And after you complete this task…" She grasped the plate that had her strawberry cake and held it up. "Cake?" she said with her eyebrows raised.

Akuha put a hand up. "No thanks." She got off her chair and stood up.

"Oh, one last thing before you go." Talia said hastily, "I do not wish to upset you, only to understand." She made a concerned look. "Akuha, how do you feel about the human boy?"

Akuha just kept her mouth shut. This was a touchy subject.

"Anyone can see that something's troubling you. May it have anything to do with him?"

"It's none of your business."

Talia made a weak smile. "You don't need to answer me if you don't want to," she said sympathetically, "just don't keep your feelings bottled up inside. It'll only make things worse."

Akuha got up paid Talia no more attention. She turned and left the room.

XXX

**A Few Days Ago – Grassy Countryside**

"Akuha! You never told me!" Tsukune yelled frantically.

Akuha let out a brief yelp as Tsukune grabbed her on the hips from behind.

"You never told me you were so ticklish around the waist." Tsukune began to tickle her wildly.

Akuha noisily laughed. "St- stop it! Let go of me!" she struggled to say, laughing too hard to say anything more.

Tsukune rarely teased people, but the rare sight of Akuha laughing childishly was entrancing. "Look out! I've discovered your weakness!" Tsukune joked.

Akuha lost balance and fell backward against Tsukune, accidentally pushing him down with her. The both of them fell on the grass, Akuha still laughing and Tsukune grinning.

The other girls, Moka, Kurumu, Yukari, and Mizore, each stood on a nearby hill, watching the two lay there next to each other.

"Hey! That looks fun!" Kurumu yelled as she ran towards them, "Don't leave me out!" Yukari and Mizore hurried behind her.

Akuha watched in awkwardness as the three girls initiated their traditional tug-of-love on Tsukune yet again.

"You're each going to pull me apart if you keep this up!" Tsukune shrieked.

Akuha watched as they dragged Tsukune away from her. "Oh well…" she sighed.

"What do you mean by 'oh well', Nee-sama?" Moka asked as she approached her.

"Huh? I didn't mean for that to be out loud." Akuha looked back at Tsukune and the girls. "This is starting to drive me nuts. Tsukune has been pulled around _at least_ once a day."

Moka got down on her knees next to her older sister, her eyes fixed on Tsukune as well. "But you've joined in before, remember? Twice in fact."

"I didn't realize it was so routine though," Akuha said laughingly, "why is this done so often? Tsukune doesn't like it. Shouldn't they realize that by now?"

"They're pulling Tsukune around because they love him." Moka looked over at her sister. "How about you?"

Akuha sat up with her legs crisscrossed. "What about me?"

"Do you love Tsukune too? You get along with him real well."

"Cut me some slack if I say 'undecided' for now." Akuha glanced down at the grass before her. "I _like_ him. I like him a lot," she said, "but unlike you and the other girls, I've only known him for about a week and a half."

Moka chuckled. "Alright, so you _like_ him even though he's…" her smile faded as her voice trailed off.

Akuha looked back at Moka. "Even though he's what?" They both paused for a moment. "Oh… yeah."

"I didn't like humans at first either," Moka said with a warm look, "but I got to know Tsukune first before finding out what race he was." Moka fell backwards into the grass and lay there, parallel to her sister. "I guess you could say something like… I love him for _who_ he is, not what he is."

Akuha nodded and looked up into the blue sky above them.

"I think now's a good time to ask _you_ the question." Moka said.

"The question?" Akuha made a confused look. "And what 'question' is that?"

"The one everyone has answered," Moka winked, "everyone 'cept you. What are you to Tsukune?"

Akuha cocked an eyebrow. "You want me to answer the same way the others have? They've all answered it according to what they _want_ to be to Tsukune."

"Uh…" Moka scratched her head. "That does sound more interesting. Go for it if you want."

Akuha just closed her eyes and sighed. She could never come up with a good answer.

XXX

**Massive Blimp – Hallways**

Akuha strode down the empty hallway, still thinking about that question. What was she to Tsukune? Or rather, what did she want to be to him?

"Don't keep your feelings bottled up inside." Talia had told her.

Akuha came to a halt. She loathed humans, and Tsukune was as human as they came.

"…_who_ he is, not what he is." Moka once said.

Akuha closed her eyes and sank her head back. "Okay," she thought to herself, "I guess that I…" she shook her head. "No, enough with all the 'guess', 'sort of', and 'may'. I _love_ Tsukune…" She opened her eyes and gazed down upon the onyx necklace she still wore. "I've loved him for a while, I just never admitted it." she thought, "So that means my answer is 'his lover', right?" Her answer was the same as Kurumu's, the only one of Moka and Tsukune's friends that she got along with.

"There, I said it!" Akuha yelled out loud to herself, "HAPPY NOW?"

XXX

**Loading Bay**

The loading bay was a fairly large rectangular room, the ceiling being pretty far above one's head. Large piles of boxes were scattered along the two longer sides of the room. There weren't a lot, but still enough to hide someone.

Akuha carefully phased through the wall and rushed behind the nearest box she could see. After one small peek around the box, she could tell that there was indeed something going on here. Large crowds of guards were gathered in the center of the room, and in the middle of them stood…

"The overseer." Akuha whispered.

The overseer seemed to be speaking to the guards, but the wind outside the airship drowned his voice out at this short distance.

A new pair of guards suddenly entered the room, carrying with them whoever this new prisoner was.

"Looks like Talia's intel was solid," Akuha mumbled. The prisoner was pulled right in front of the overseer.

"What do you want from me?" The pink haired girl yelled.

Akuha wiped her eyes, making sure she wasn't seeing things. "Moka?" she blurted out.

A number of guards turned and looked. "I heard something." one of them said.

Akuha dropped back behind cover. The overseer's secrecy made sense now. "He's abducted Moka now?" Akuha thought, "What the hell could he be thinking? He knows she's my sister." Kidnapping Tsukune was one thing, but now Moka? This has gone on too far.

Sick to death of hiding, Akuha stood up and walked straight at the crowd of guards.

The overseer turned a head. He looked surprised to see her. Not panicked, but he wasn't expecting her. "Akuha Shuzen," he said in a deep voice, "a pleasure of you to join us."

"Nee-sama!" Moka yelled, "You're with them aren't you?"

The overseer made a motion to the door. "Guards, take Moka away from here."

Akuha watched in disgust as her sister was brought out of the room. "I just never have it easy huh?" she thought, "Is it just me, or has everyone suddenly grown a fetish for kidnapping?"

The remaining crowd of guards in the room stepped forward, aiming to protect their leader.

"Hogetsu Jigen-Tou!" Akuha yelled, using the moon blade technique. Every single one of the guards split in half, all killed in a single slash. "I don't care why you're doing this, so don't bother explaining yourself," she said harshly, "I won't let you get away with threatening my sister!"

The overseer just stood there watching her. "Well then what are you waiting for?" he said calmly, "Attack me."

"Fine with me!" Akuha readied herself, about to lunge forward. "Consider this my resignation!" As she made her first step forward, she came to a stop as she heard someone enter the room behind her.

A familiar girl with blond hair, tan skin, and a white ball gown slowly approached her.

Akuha's eyes widened as she turned to look. "Kahlua?"

Kahlua began to cry like a baby. "I'm just doing what I'm told to," she said in a whiny voice, "please don't hate me."

XXX

To be continued in next chapter.

* * *

**I'm surprised that no one has asked about this before: In the manga, Akuha is seen using the Jigen-Tou technique to phase through her opponent's attacks to protect herself, yet she has never used it this way in this whole fiction so far. Thing is, this story started right at the end of manga issue one, and Akuha appears near the end of issue two, that's quite a bit of time later. We don't know when Akuha masters the technique in the manga, but for this fiction, she's just really close at this point.**


	17. Chpt 17: Pursuit

"…and on this chapter's author notes section, I'd like to point out to you all the-" A sudden loud blast interrupted the commentator, and the sound of him dropping dead on the floor was heard.

MrDrProfessor4 stood there behind him with a smoking shotgun. "Enough! Enough!" he screamed, "No more author notes! People are sick to ****ing death of them!" He walked over the commentator's corpse and double tapped it with a few more shots.

* * *

**9 Years Ago – The Shuzen Household**

The day she first met her sisters…

"Uwaaaaaah!" Kahlua cried loudly as tears poured down from her eyes.

Akuha stared wide-eyed at Kahlua. Did she really hurt her so badly that it led her to cry? No, there was more to her tears than that. Akuha looked carefully at her opponent, while Kahlua seemed legitimately sad, her demonic aura spiked widly, giving hints that her intent to kill was also growing. "Hmm… perhaps I misunderstood you." Akuha said, "You're tears aren't from sorrow, but a form of atonement. In other words, you've made the 'decision' to kill your opponent without hesitation?"

While still crying, Kahlua made a somewhat surprised gesture. Akuha sure had an impressive insight in battle to see through her 'tears' so quickly.

Akuha noted the gesture Kahlua made and confirmed her suspicions. She actually wasn't sure at first that her theory on Kahlua's tears was correct, but she had been taught very well in the aspect of analyzing, evaluating, and predicting the actions of her opponents. She had been getting better at it with every passing day. "That's wonderful," Akuha said as she readied another attack, "I have a feeling we're going to become great sisters."

Akuha and Kahlua both began to lunge at each other again, until they noticed the sound of their father slowly clapping. They both came to a stop.

"Thank you Akuha," Issa Shuzen said in a gratifying expression, "I now know how strong you are. It's beyond my expectations."

Akuha made a polite bow. "Thank you very much, father."

"You must be tired from your trip. You may rest for the day." Issa turned away and focused his attention towards his guests.

Akuha gave another glace at her opponent, whom was sighing in relief. "You're pretty good at fighting for someone that doesn't like violence."

"Huh?" Kahlua looked up at Akuha. "Yea… but we're vampires. We were made for this sort of thing." She said with charming smile. "Yet at the same time… I don't like to see people get hurt."

"Both _who_ you are and _what_ you are…" Akuha whispered to herself, "quite a paradox."

"Anyways," Kahlua held her hand out for a handshake, "here's for a good family relationship."

Akuha gladly shook her hand, making a mutual friendly notion.

Kahlua suddenly fell to her knees and coughed out a little bit of blood.

"Kahlua!" Akuha crouched down. "I didn't hurt you too badly did I?"

Kahlua grasped her stomach where she had been hit earlier. "It's nothing that won't fix itself." She coughed more as Akuha helped her up.

Akuha helped her sister over to a nearby chair against the wall.

"You don't have to do this you know," Kahlua said as she sat down, "I'm not going to die or anything."

"True, but you're certainly not well." Akuha said, "What would it say about me if I didn't help you? It's my fault that you're hurt." She pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her sister.

Kahlua smiled and took the handkerchief. "You're all right, Onee-san… you're all right." She wiped the blood off her mouth. "I too believe we'll become great sisters."

Akuha made a cheerful nod, glad to be accepted. "I'm pleased you feel that way…"

Kahlua coughed again. "You know, I think you would've won if father didn't stop us."

"Don't count yourself out so quickly," Akuha said pleasantly, "neither of us were fighting to our full ability."

Kahlua shook her head. "No, I mean it. I can already see that you're much better trained. I mean, you could read every move that I made."

"Analyzing your opponent has its advantages," Akuha said, "but there's still a lot about you I don't know." She pointed at one of Kahlua's earrings. "Those are limiters aren't they?"

"Yup, they are." Kahlua laughed, "You're a master of perception aren't you?"

"Nah, I've still got a long way to go," Akuha shrugged, "besides, I've got no way to know how much tougher you'd be if you removed your limiters."

"Oh stop being so modest." Kahlua felt curious as to exactly what Akuha was taught in. "By the way, what kind of Chinese martial arts have you been learning? Wushu? Kung Fu?"

Akuha frowned. "Technically, both. They're kind of the same thing."

"Huh? The same thing?"

Akuha folded her arms. "You see, 'Wushu' literally means 'martial art'. 'Kung Fu' refers to a 'skill' achieved through hard work. Kung Fu is a more popular term though, so you can call it that if you like."

"Oh, I don't really pay attention to that stuff, I didn't know." Kahlua felt confused. "But aren't there other martial arts taught in China?"

Akuha put her shoulder against the wall. "There's a lot actually, but 'Kung Fu' is the term used for _any_ of the various Chinese martial arts. I've just learned a ton of them and blended them together."

Feeling well enough, Kahlua carefully began to stand back up. "I doubt I can compete with that," she said, "looks like you're the new 'best fighter' of us sisters."

"And you're okay with that?" Akuha asked. After arriving here, she had expected some kind of rivalry with at least one of her sisters. It was a household of vampires after all, and their kind thrived on battles. They were prideful, and there wasn't a single cell in their bodies that knew defeat.

"What kind of question is that?" Kahlua said with a smile of an angel, "It doesn't bother me at all. In fact, I _prefer_ that the role should be passed onto someone that actually enjoys fighting."

Akuha smiled back. "You're fairy different from a typical vampire."

"You as well, Onee-san." Kahlua said with a wink.

XXX

**Present Time – ****Loading Bay**

Akuha stared her sister in the eye. Kahlua however just watched her with an unhappy frown.

"Sorry about this…" Kahlua said miserably, "I'm just following orders."

Akuha didn't return a word, merely a nod. She knew trying to negotiate would be a waste of time. Kahlua was the most obedient of Issa's daughters. While she hated killing, she was ironically the quickest at it. She cried on the behalf of her victims, regardless if they were a friend or a stranger, not that it slowed her down at all. She would feel sad, but would still kill anyone, _even Moka_, without hesitation if told to.

Behind Akuha stood the overseer, the shadow his hood cast over his face made him impossible to read. He was completely still, suggesting he was calm. Akuha was already aware that he had some knowledge in Youjutsu, the blacks arts that the Jigen-Tou technique came from. Any quick moon-blade attack would be easily blocked. Akuha would need to use a much more focused Jigen-Tou strike, one that she couldn't conjure with someone else keeping her busy.

"He's thought of everything hasn't he?" Akuha thought, "I can't easily kill him if Kahlua is getting in the way, and he knows that I won't kill my own sister outright." she looked back at her sister, "First thing's first." She didn't want to kill her sister, but felt no restraint against fighting her. The two of them had sparred for hours, not _too_ long, as Kahlua would often turn her down, but they still spent a substantial amount of time fighting each other. "I'll give you one chance to back down, Kahlua." Akuha said aloud.

"I'm sorry…" Kahlua said as tears began to form in her eyes, "You know I really don't like fighting… but…" she brought her arms up to take a relaxed fighting stance, "Forgive me… Akuha Onee-san."

Akuha didn't expect any less. Those were the same words as when they fought for the first time. "Lets get this over with…" Kahlua was certainly a formidable foe, but on the other hand, Akuha already knew her quite well and had always been the better fighter. "You can cry after killing me." she said sardonically, confident she could win quickly.

Kahlua charged forward, pulling back her fist for a punch. Akuha however sidestepped out of the way and tripped her, pushing against her back and using her own momentum to send her flying. Kahlua landed on her face with a loud thud.

"Oww!" Kahlua shouted as she got up. She put a hand to her forehead and noticed a big red spot there.

"You know you can't beat me," Akuha said unworriedly, "make it easy on yourself and back down." While she recalled giving her sister 'one chance', she still welcomed the possibility of her giving up.

Well aware that she couldn't win like this, Kahlua quickly grasped her right earring, one of two small crosses that hung down, and pulled it off. Her arm suddenly shredded apart like paper. "Arrrrrg!" Kahlua screamed in pain as blood spattered the floor below her. Her right arm formed into a set of five large bat wings, each sturdy, unyielding, and razor-sharp like swords.

"Following every order without thinking about it…" Akuha whispered. Kahlua was a great person to get to know, but in battle, she acted like a heartless machine. "Save for the crying of course."

Kahlua made a vertical swipe with her arm-blades, moving at a speed so quick that anyone else would have seen an afterimage. Still, Akuha evaded the blade with ease, letting it miss by a fraction of an inch and delivering a punch to her opponent's stomach. In retaliation, Kahlua swung her arm again, this time horizontally. Akuha made a small jump, landing in a squatting position onto the flat side of Kahlua's arm-blades, and then sweep kicking Kahlua's head as hard as she could, sending her tumbling again.

Akuha back-flipped and landed. Things were certainly going smoothly. At this rate, she should have Kahlua incapacitated in no time, without fatally injuring her too. "Nothing that won't fix itself…" Akuha whispered.

Kahlua sat up and slowly grasped her other earring.

"Even when removing both limiters, you cannot defeat her." The overseer said from behind her.

"Huh?" Kahlua dropped her arm down and looked at the overseer, "But that's talk of nine years ago. I can still-"

"No," The overseer put his hand up, "you cannot, or at least, not as you are _now_."

Kahlua wiped blood from her mouth. "What do you mean?" She was certain that she wouldn't have to fight someone as powerful as Akuha without _something_ to even the odds. "Do you have some kind of plan?"

The overseer nodded. "Your only advantage is that Akuha is holding back, but even with that, her speed and technique by far surpass your own." He reached into his cloak and pulled out a small syringe. "I thought this would be a great opportunity to test _this_ out." With the use of telekinesis, it floated from his hand and next to Kahlua's shoulder.

"Well…" Kahlua hesitated, "if you think it'll help…" she said with a frown. She took the syringe and held it over her upper leg.

"What are you waiting for?" The overseer asked.

Akuha stood there and watched. While she could try taking the syringe away and ending this fight, she decided to observe, hoping it would give her answers. It seemed like the overseer's motive behind staging this fight was to test… whatever was in that syringe. She braced herself for anything.

Kahlua finally took the syringe. For a moment, nothing happened. "Uh, master… what was that supposed to-" From where she injected herself, her blood veins looked like they were about to pop. The effects started spreading through the rest of her body swiftly.

Akuha couldn't help but cringe as her sister began to scream in pain. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…" Externally, Kahlua didn't change much. Her blood veins were blown up and the look on her face made her look berserk, but the most drastic change was not something that could be seen. Akuha closed her eyes and felt out Kahlua's demonic energy. Rather than radiating like it normally would, it felt as if it were ignited and burning like a wild inferno. What was even more bizarre is that the aura felt almost identical to Alistair's. "Me and my curiosity." Akuha said frustrated. All the lights above them flickered and quickly shattered. All of a sudden, Akuha felt a sharp pain as five long cut marks appeared from her waist to her neck, spurting out blood. "What the!" Akuha fell on her back.

Kahlua stood behind her, shaking like she were having a seizure. She had attacked so quickly that not even _Akuha_ could see it coming. Kahlua tried to say something, but all that came out were guttural sounds. Her mind was too intoxicated to make sense of anything but killing.

Akuha hopped to her feet again and looked for her opponent. Kahlua starting moved again, so fast that she seemingly teleported from place to place. Akuha heard the sound of Kahlua's arm blade screaming through the air, rapidly approaching from the left. Akuha instinctively brought her arm up to block the blade, unable to dodge it in time. Kahlua's arm blade tore halfway through Akuha's arm, penetrating into the bone. In response, Akuha kicked at Kahlua with both legs.

As Kahlua backed off, a number of blood veins in her right leg popped, but she didn't feel any pain. She felt as if she were enjoying this fight, which was completely unlike her.

More blood dripped from Akuha's left arm as it dangled lifelessly. At least she still had use of her right arm. Kahlua had been moving at least ten times her normal speed, which was already quite fast to begin with. Even most werewolves weren't this fast. "Look… look at her… look hard." Akuha whispered as she watched Kahlua, "She's going to move, don't you _dare_ miss it."

Kahlua seemingly disappeared, and reappeared right behind Akuha. Another splatter of blood landed to the floor.

Akuha fell forward, pushing off the ground with her right hand to flip and land on her feet. "I can't keep up with that!" she said in alarm. She felt out Kahlua's demonic energy, which was closing rapidly. She couldn't dodge or block the attack, so she punched in Kahlua's direction blindly. The blow connected, hitting Kahlua right in the neck, but she didn't seem to feel it. Akuha was slashed again, this time across her hip. She fell to the ground, too overwhelmed by pain.

"You're holding back, Black Devil." The overseer said, standing motionless away from them, "There is but one way you can win, the Jigen-Tou technique."

Akuha struggled to get up. It was true that she could kill Kahlua easily with the Jigen-Tou, but… "I'm not going to kill my sister!" she shouted.

"Even if you'll die yourself?"

"I'm not going to die!" Akuha yelled furiously, "I won't kill my sister… **and I'm not dieing here either**!"

Kahlua 'disappeared' again, her demonic aura moving swiftly.

Akuha braced herself. Her reflexes could barley detect Kahlua's attacks at the last second, but she couldn't respond fast enough. "I'll never win like this, time for a game changer…"

Kahlua slashed with her arm blade, slicing right through Akuha's head.

"And now it's over," the overseer smiled under his hood, "I expected you'd put up more of a fight." His smile faded when he noticed that Akuha was still standing in one piece. Kahlua's arm blade had passed through her as if she wasn't even there.

After Kahlua swung her arm 'though' her older sister again, Akuha hit her across the face as hard as she could. "Delaying my existence… just when my opponent attacks…" Akuha moved her right arm up, making a fighting stance with one hand. "It requires complete mastery of the technique to use under the pressure of battle." She had used the Jigen-Tou this way many times before, such as using it to pick a lock, but she would usually need a minute or two to concentrate. Instantaneous use for a fight was on a whole different level. "I've still got to be careful," she whispered to herself, "I don't want to fall through the floor."

Kahlua hacked and slashed in a blind flurry, every attack phasing through Akuha harmlessly. Blood suddenly began to burst out of Kahlua's normal arm, causing her to pause for a moment. She was probably going to fall apart on her own before this fight was over.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Akuha phased back into existence. She began to beat, pound, and thrash Kahlua as hard as she could with her remaining arm. She aimed only on disabling each of Kahlua's limbs, careful not to strike any vitals. "Kung fu… forms that focus on sharp blows to your opponent's pressure points."

Kahlua collapsed to one knee, struggling just to stand up. The drug may have sterilized her pain, but not even the influence of a charm could bring her back on her feet. She began to mumble again, speaking more non-sensible noises. Her mind was still intoxicated, clouded by her own energy that was running out of control.

"I'd rather not let this continue." Akuha said as she struck the side of Kahlua's neck. Kahlua fell to the floor and passed out. The drug she took had drained too much of her fatigue. Akuha grasped her lifeless arm and looked back in the overseer's direction. He was gone. "Dirty coward," Akuha said furiously "you'll pay for this…" She scoffed at how cliché that sounded, and glanced at Kahlua below her. Thankfully she was still alive, but the drug she took was certainly something to be reckoned with. It was fortunate that their battle was short, but it was certainly very brutal. Hopefully she wouldn't encounter any more Yōkai using the same drug.

Akuha turned towards the door to exit the room. She was tempted to bring her sister with her, but to where? This was a massive blimp in the sky, and as far as Akuha knew, Kahlua was allied with Fairy Tale anyway. There was the possibility that they had something horrible planned for her, she was just used as a guinea pig after all, but Akuha decided she had to leave her behind for now. Moka was the one in danger.

"I guess I should be the one apologizing, Kahlua."

XXX

**Metal Cell**

Tsukune put his ear to the wall. It sounded like a lot was going on outside. Herds of footsteps would often pass by and the muffed shouting he heard sounded like something along the lines of panicking. Were they under attack or something?

WHAM!

Tsukune fell back as a deafening smash was heard against the wall. Another smash came before a side of the room was torn down completely. He looked closely at the opening. "Akuha?"

"Tsuk! I'm sorry!" Akuha rushed into the room and hugged him with only her right arm. "I'm so sorry!" she repeated.

Tsukune pushed her away. "Sorry? But aren't you with them?" Tsukune's eyes went wide when he caught the site of Akuha's other arm. It was torn and shredded, dripping with blood. "Wha… what happened to you?"

Akuha turned and brought her arm out of his view. "I _was_ with Fairy Tale, but I just quit."

"How stupid do you think I am?" Tsukune said with anger in his voice, "After kidnapping me, do you really expect me to believe you?"

Akuha made a hurt look. "True, I brought you into this mess…" She tightened her workable fist. "So I'm going to get you out of it." She brought her arm out. "I'll explain everything when we get out of here, I promise!"

Tsukune brushed her hand away. "No, you're explaining everything _now_! I'm not coming with you until I know what's going on!"

Akuha suddenly looked pissed. Something inside her just snapped. "The only thing you need to know _now_ is that I'm getting you out of here." She grabbed Tsukune's arm.

"But I-" Tsukune was violently yanked out of the cell before he could say anything else. He hurried to keep up as Akuha pulled him through the hallways. "How do I know I can trust you?" he asked.

"I'm _not_ asking you to trust me," Akuha shouted furiously, "I'm helping you **whether you like it or not**!"

XXX

**4 Weeks Ago**

The overseer stood at a wide window in the large blimp, overlooking an enormous city below the orange sunset. "Magnificent isn't it?" he said, "The greatest power that this world has ever seen, the very one that threatened to destroy it centuries ago…" He hunched forward and put his hands on the railings before him. "Soon, it shall be mine to control." He turned his head towards Talia, who stood next to him. She was also looking out the window. Instead of smiling like she usually did, she looked bored. "And when I have this world at my heel," the overseer said, "you shall take you place beside me," he began to stroke Talia's long smooth hair, "on a throne, and in my bed."

Talia still watched uninterested at the city. "What makes you think I'd accept, my lord?"

"Women want men with power do they not?"

Talia looked down at her cake resting on a silver plate she held, and took a small chunk of it with her fork. "And _why_ would a woman want that?" She swallowed a piece. "Power, wealth, a good looking man…" she held her plate up, "people like cake too." She smiled and laughed.

"You really like those strawberry cakes don't you?" The overseer folded his arms. He couldn't imagine how Talia could stay so slim despite eating sweets all the time.

Talia nodded. "Of course, it just brings me a feeling of satisfaction." She stared forward at the sunset, looking beyond happy. "Getting a job to make a living, helping an old lady across the street, robbing a bank, or even 'taking over the world'." She gently grasped her diamond necklace and watched it sparkle in the sunlight. "When it comes right down to it, the motive behind anyone's actions, good or bad, is to get what he or she wants out of life." She finished the last piece of her cake. "Everyone pursues a different form of 'satisfaction'. Exactly what that form is depends on the person, and that's what makes someone different from another. It's what makes us who we are."

The overseer raised an eyebrow below his hood. "You're quite the philosopher." He looked back the city below him. "A different form of satisfaction?" He let out a wicked laugh. "I have come to believe that all _anyone_ wants is the same thing. Historically, it's always been money, and more money; power, and more power."

"You think that's _all_ that brings satisfaction?" Talia asked with a devious look.

"I know it's all people have wanted, whether is satisfies them or not." The overseer turned towards Talia. "And like the rest of this world, I intend on acquiring power, and more power." He brought his fingers to her chin. "I am offing you a part of this power, for almost nothing in return."

"Because another thing that a man desires is women…" Talia said coolly, "a beautiful toy to play with."

"Don't look at it that way, my dear." The overseer said in a deep voice. He looked back at the window. "Look," he brought his arm up, "this whole world before us will be ours, yours and mine. The only possible threat is one of our own assassins, 'The Black Devil'." He lowered his hand and turned away from the window. "Judging by her sentimentalism seven year ago, she would no doubt object to the sacrifice of her own sister. She could easily strike us in the back, from inside our own organization."

"So what do you plan to do? Dispose of her?"

"She has been very resourceful and loyal to Fairy Tale, yet it seems that there is no other choice."

"You have plenty of choices in the matter, my lord." Talia's smile darkened to a sinister grin.

"What do you propose?"

Talia wrapped her hands together behind her back. "Instead of killing Akuha, we can _send_ her to capture the one of the two individuals we need, the boy."

"How could that possibly help us?"

"We would kill but _three_ birds with one stone. Bringing the boy to us, testing the assassin's loyalty, and possibly even ridding ourselves of _a different_ threat."

The overseer thought for a moment. "Yes… another thorn in my side would be gone regardless of whichever one of them is killed by the other."

Talia brushed her hair back and began to walk away. "Don't worry, I'll orchestrate this part of the plan."

"Very well." The overseer had always preferred to be in control, but he couldn't argue with the results Talia often gave him. "I leave it in your hands."

XXX

**Present Time – The Overseer's Office**

The overseer scrambled through his documents, papers, and computer. His plan was starting to fall apart before it had even begun. He had intended on purifying the water supply that fed Akuha's quarters, weakening her first, but she had found out about what he was doing earlier than expected.

"It's like somebody tipped her off," the overseer said to himself, "the timing was just too inconvenient." He looked up data on all the powerful members. Every single one of them was mysteriously gone, all out on different assignments. Various artifacts and tools he planned on using were missing as well, all vanished or transferred elsewhere. "Everything… everything I had prepared for this moment…" While he still appeared to keep his composure, he was starting to panic on the inside. A growing fear had been growing inside him since he saw that Akuha would be victorious against her sister. He had only one card left to play. "Guards," he said through the intercom, "bring the prisoner to deck 8 at once."

"Deck 8?" a voice said, "But she's not with us anymore, master."

"What?" the overseer stuttered, "You let her escape?"

"No, of course not. A number of other guards came by with orders to move her."

"From whom were these orders from?"

The guard paused, unsure what to say. "I… I don't know, sir. I assumed that they came from you."

The overseer shut the intercom off and sat there in disbelief. "Either Akuha is more cunning than I thought, or…" The large monitor in front of him suddenly turned on. An image of Talia holding a chess piece, a white knight, appeared on the screen.

"An unexpected outside anomaly?" Talia said with a kind looking smile.

The overseer's glare darkened. "Pawns can suddenly turn on their master?" he quoted.

"And there are but so many pieces that may break the rules." Talia giggled to herself playfully.

"How dare you!" The overseer shouted, "I offered you everything!"

Talia's giggling turned into laughter. "You offered me the whole world, to be 'yours and mine'. Whoever said I wanted that? I am not so materialistic." She brought her hand up. "You wanted to 'take over the world'? That's so cliché that it's laughable."

"Fool! You're nothing without me!"

"Really now?" She twirled the white knight in her hand. "It was I who told you of this power you now obsess over. I told you where it is, what it is, and how to awaken it." A terrifying, sadistic look spread across her face. "_You_… are nothing without _me_," she learned forward, "and now that your pillar of comprehension has left you…" The door to the overseer's office was smashed against from the outside.

"You _planned_ on having this backfire?" The overseer said in anger.

Talia nodded. "I am going to give this organization the guidance it deserves."

Akuha suddenly busted in through the door and looked around. She had expected some kind of trap or false lead, but there the overseer was, sitting helpless in his office.

From the monitor, Talia glared into the overseer's eyes ominously. "You have gotten careless, my lord," she set the white knight down with a light tapping noise, "checkmate."

At that moment, Akuha chopped the overseer in half.

XXX

To be continued in… you guessed it: next chapter.

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**I'll try to make this brief. A poll has been added to my profile page.**

**I just want to see what people gravitate towards. Who in the right mind would vote for Dythe anyways?**


	18. Chpt 18: Of all things

**This whole chapter had to be rewritten from scratch. I feel that the first version was a lot better though, but I've completely lost my patience with this particular chapter.**

* * *

**4 Weeks Ago – Pacific Ocean**

Alistair's soared through the blinding water and mist that sped across the air. The gray stormy sky let out a flash of lightning as Alistair landing onto the back of a luxurious white yacht. He jerked his hands out, morphing them into claws the size of scimitars.

"Waste him!" Gavrilo pointed and yelled.

Five members of Fairy Tale armed with UMP45 submachine guns opened fire at Alistair. The violent waves and disorienting winds made it near impossible to aim. Alistair lunged forward and slashed the men in a fury, chopping three of them into dozens of gory pieces. After another flash of lighting, Alistair seemingly disappeared, reappearing behind one of the remaining men and grabbing him by the back of the neck. Alistair brought his other hand onto the top of the man's head, shoving downwards and squishing his head like a watermelon.

The only remaining guard directed his gun at Alistair. "Die, mamma's boy!" he shouted. Alistair's right arm morphed into a sharp tentacle and lunged forward, impaling the man through the chest. Alistair whipped his arm, catapulting the man away and into the roaring waters.

Alistair turned his attention towards Gavrilo and grabbed him by the collar. "I've had enough of your game's, Princip." Alistair said as held him up, "Why's Fairy Tale so interested with Moka Akashiya? How's the girl different from any other vampire?"

Gavrilo looked down at the ground below him. He was being held up three times his own height. His enemies seemed to have an annoying habit of mocking his small stature. "Because she's-" he choked and hacked, "she's a Shinso vampire."

Alistair threw Gavrilo aside, letting him slide against the slippery wet floor and slam against the railing. "Somehow I doubt you intend to employ her."

Gavrilo grabbed the railing. "Hah, you and you're two buddies are on top of everything aren't ya?" He began to chuckle. "The balance of the whole world is shifting, and you're oblivious to it all."

Alistair walked forward. "Then how about you enlighten me?" His right arm slowly changed into a razor sharp blade before Gavrilo's eyes. "What's this 'great power' everyone's been talking about?"

Gavrilo stood up against the railing. "People have been talking about it for centuries, long before Fairy Tale was even formed." He grasped the railing hard as the boat was shaken by another wave. "Not everyone knows about it, but it's the single greatest power that this world has ever seen."

Alistair came to a stop in front of Gavrilo. "And the overseer aims on using it? That's what he plans to do?"

"He?" Gavrilo looked like he was about to laugh. "Oh no lab rat, you have it all wrong." He began to walk away from the railing, his eyes fixed on Alistair. "_She_ is so many steps ahead of you."

"She?" Alistair kept his eyes on the slob. "Someone else is behind this?"

"Well wouldn't you like to know?" Gavrilo snickered.

Another flash of lighting struck behind Alistair. "Whom are you talking about? Who's pulling the strings? Answer me!"

"Even I don't know much about her, you'd have to ask her yourself." Gavrilo scratched his neck where Alistair had grabbed him earlier. "But my advice to you? Mind your own business and go home back to your mommy." He came to a stop. "Try though you might, there's _nothing_ you can do to stop us."

Alistair would have gritted his teeth if he still had it in him to. Suddenly, a handsome man in a black lawsuit lunged at him from behind with blinding speed. While Alistair didn't use his eyes to see, he was too slow in his sealed state to react in time. Miyabi Fujisaki struck Alistair in the back, sending him flying off the boat and into the raging sea.

"Good hit Miyabi!" Kahlua said joyfully, watching from behind a slightly open door to the interior of the yacht, "We won't be seeing him again."

Miyabi's expression remained calm and unchanged as the strong winds and mist blew around him. He looked over at Kahlua and shook his head steadily. "It'll take a lot more than that to bring him down," he said, "he _will_ be back."

Gavrilo looked out into the thunderous ocean. "The lab rat and his two friends have been causing us a lot of trouble recently." He squeezed his tie and water spilt out. His clothes were so drenched and soggy from all the mist jetting through the air. "Good thing Talia said she had a solution for this problem."

From the water, Alistair surfaced and struggled to stay afloat. He watched as the white yacht sailed away.

XXX

**Present Time – Massive Blimp**

Akuha looked down at the overseer's remains. Killing him had been so easy. She didn't think about it earlier, but she hadn't encountered even a single guard along the whole way here. Even the guards regularly stationed outside this room seemed to have been ordered away. She hadn't expected this to be over so quickly. Now what?

"Akuha! You just killed that guy!" Tsukune said in alarm.

Akuha bought up her left arm and stared at her palm. It was starting to heal nicely. "Of course I did. He tried to kill me, and he was going to kill you too." She began to walk towards the door.

"Hold on for a second!" Tsukune said as he grabbed Akuha by the shoulders. "I'm getting sick of this '_you take me places while killing people_' routine. What's going on here? At least give me the short version!"

Akuha blushed as Tsukune held her aggressively. It reminded her of that crazy dream she had a couple of days ago.

"Well?" Tsukune's grip tightened.

"Uh… okay!" Akuha gently brushed Tsukune's hands off. "This guy here was my boss," she said, extending her hand in the direction of the overseer's corpse, "he told me to kidnap you, but I stopped following orders when I found out Moka was also brought-"

"Moka?" Tsukune made a shocked look. "She was kidnapped too?"

Akuha nodded. "Yes, and I _swear_ that I don't know what they want with her."

Tsukune didn't look satisfied. "Well…" he whispered under his breath, "I can see from earlier that you're a pretty good liar."

Akuha leaned forward and looked Tsukune in the eyes. "I wouldn't lie about this. Not about Moka."

Tsukune sighed. He knew that he had no chance of getting out of here without help anyways. "Alright, I'll trust you… for now."

Akuha started for the door again before Tsukune stopped her a second time. "What is it now, Tsuk?" She was close to leaning over and groaning. She would have preferred if Tsukune would just shut-up and let her help him.

Tsukune held up the holy lock on his wrist. "This extra seal on me," he poked the second seal on the chain, "can you force it off?"

Akuha looked closely at the second lock. "You would need an expert for that," she said, "tearing it off could permanently break your first seal."

Tsukune frowned. "Fine…" he said as he lowed his arm, "then let me ask you something. Do you truly care about Moka?"

Akuha made an offended look. "What kind of question is that?" she yelled, "I like her, I love her, I adore her…" She placed her hand onto her chest. "I wish to protect her, no matter what it takes," she said valiantly, "and that's the way it's always been for me." She began to move again. "Now if there are no more questions, I _really_ think we should get moving."

Tsukune began to follow her. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you this bossy before."

"Oh?" Akuha scratched her head. "I'm sorry, Tsuk… it's just been a rough day." She knew she usually acted domineering and heavy-handed when under stress, hence why she worked alone. Her name meant 'dominant love' after all. "It seems to fit me I guess…" she whispered.

XXX

Akuha made a quick stop at her personal quarters, phasing into the black attire she regularly fought in and out of her shredded cheongsam.

"You're stopping here for a change of clothes?" Tsukune asked, "I'm sorry but it seems a little…"

"Unnecessary?" Akuha said as she turned her head. "Yeah, the cloths I'm wearing may seem like a trivial matter, but I'm expecting another fight soon." She adjusted the white bandana that hung below her neck. "I want to be wearing an outfit that I can easily move in." She looked down at the cheongsam, lying on the floor. "Doesn't take very long for a change anyways."

Tsukune shrugged. "No, it didn't." He jumped in surprise as he suddenly felt something wet on his hand. "Gaaaaaah!" He fell over onto his butt.

Akuha spun back around and noticed that her dog had just licked Tsukune's hand. "Oh, I can see you've met Earl Grey."

"Earl Grey?" Tsukune watched the dog cautiously. "Is there anything I should know about him?"

"What do you mean, Tsuk?"

"I mean is there anything supernatural about him?" Earl creeped up to Tsukune and licked his face. "Does he have vampire blood? Does he transform? Anything like that?"

"Huh?" Akuha chuckled loudly. "Of course not. Earl's just a normal dog."

Tsukune carefully patted Earl. "Normal? What standard of normal?"

"I assure you, he's completely ordinary, like any other dog in your town." Akuha walked over to them and bent down. "He's sort of an old family pet," she said as she scratched Earl beneath the chin, "had him for almost a decade." She stood up and started towards the door. Earl began to follow her. "Stay," Akuha said as she brought her palm up to Earl, "don't worry boy, hopefully I'll be back before long." She turned away again. "Take care of yourself."

XXX

In the middle of the dining hall, Talia sat alone at one of the four long tables that extended across the room. As expected, she was eating yet another slice of strawberry cake.

"I thought I might find you here." Akuha said from the other side of the room.

Talia brought her head up, noticing the vampire that had entered the room. "Ah, the assassin returns." She said politely.

"I'm not here for more small talk, Talia. There are a few things I'd like to ask you." Akuha began to directly approach her.

"Straight to the to point huh?" Talia said with a devious look. "De l'audace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace," Talia said poetically, "boldness, more boldness, forever boldness. That is your style."

Akuha stopped at an arm's length from where Talia sat, and shoved aside the table next to her. The table, along with everything on it, went flying aside.

Talia calmly looked at the mess. "What a waste." she said with a sarcastic frown.

Akuha folded her arms. "Now that we won't have any distractions, tell me where Moka is." She spoke in an infuriated, but quiet tone. "I _know_ you've had a hand in what's been going on."

Tsukune came up behind her. "Akuha, who's this?"

Akuha's angered expression faded. "She's another member of this organization, Tsuk."

"'Tsuk'?" Talia quoted, slowly standing up, "It's good to see that the two of you have made up."

"What's it to you?" Akuha asked.

Talia giggled loudly. "I really must thank you for getting rid of the overseer, he was really dragging Fairy Tale down."

Akuha nodded. "You were counting on me to get rid of him weren't you?" Akuha put a hand to her chin. "In fact… all the guards and powerful members were ordered away by _you_ weren't they?"

Talia grasped her hands together behind her back. "Guilty as charged." she said with a pleasant smile.

Tsukune noted the politeness of the girl. Even if she was a stranger, she seemed nice and had helped them. "That's good," Tsukune said, holding his arm out for a handshake, "thanks for the help."

"Wait…" Akuha gently pushed Tsukune's hand down, keeping her eyes fixed on Talia. "Exactly _why_ would you help us? What do you have to gain?"

Tsukune decided to remain quiet and just watch. If it was another life or death matter like Dythe or Alistair, it was best to just let Akuha handle it.

"What do I have to gain?" Talia tilted her head to her shoulder. "Fairy Tale."

Akuha's eyes darkened, curious as to where Talia was going with this. At least now, she may finally get some answers.

"The overseer would never have thought of using you to eliminate Alistair, not unless I had suggested it." She stepped backwards and sat on the backrest of a chair. "You would never have second thoughts about abducting Tsukune, if I hadn't extended your stay with him by two weeks."

"What? How could you predict that I would…" Akuha couldn't think of the correct words to finish her sentence. That she would what? Develop feelings for Tsukune?

"What I counted on was you discerning his relationship with Moka." Talia took a few steps from the chair she leaned on. "Moka cares deeply for him, and would be very sad if he died." She stood on the tip of her right boot, and made a full rotation like a ballroom dancer. Her hair whipped out and settled back down. "May that sound familiar to you, Akuha?"

Akuha gritted her teeth, but decided to keep listening. She wanted to hear more before cutting Talia's head off.

"The incalculable fluctuations of an individual's passions…" Talia made a half turn, facing away from them and looking at them from the corner of her eye. "I had hoped you two would form a bond, but in the case if you didn't, I would simply improvise."

"So," Akuha said, "this whole scheme was to gain personal power for yourself?"

"Oh no assassin," Talia faced them again, "I do not strive for power, and more power. To me, it is nothing more than a means to an end." She looked down at her own diamond necklace. "In spite of what you think, I am not so materialistic." She looked at Akuha's onyx necklace. "After all, the one is richest whose pleasures are cheapest. Do you not agree?"

Tsukune had trouble taking in that last bit. "Wait, what was that?"

Akuha had heard enough. Things made sense to her now, and she didn't need to hear the rest of Talia's scheme. Whatever it was wouldn't matter if she were dead. "Well you've made a major miscalculation in your '_master plans_'." She walked forward and grabbed Talia by the throat.

Other than a slight flinch, Talia's expression didn't change much. She still looked… cheerful.

"Well?" Akuha said as she pressed her grip, "Aren't you going to beg for your life?"

"Would it change your mind?" Talia let out something of a gag. It sounded like she was laughing. "You just want to watch me squirm first, that's all." Her expression changed to a more sadistic one. "You may kill me, but you may never insult me."

"Well then, how about we put that to the test?" Akuha put her other hand around Talia's neck. "All I have to do is squeeze." She said sternly.

"That's funny," Talia said as her eyes trailed to the side, "_**I**_ don't have to do anything."

Akuha turned in the direction Talia was looking.

"Moka!" Akuha and Tsukune both yelled at once. From the entrance of the room stood Moka, completely unharmed. Behind her were two guards with handguns.

"Tsukune! Nee-sama!" Moka shouted. She began to run forward, but both of the guards grabbed her by the shoulders. Moka made a frightened look as one of them placed his gun against her head.

Akuha looked back at Talia with an expression of disgust.

Talia however frowned at the guards, seemingly dissatisfied with the unkind treatment to their prisoner. "I know its cliché," she said, looking back at Akuha with a smile, "but what else makes you click?"

Akuha calmed herself. This was no time to let anger cloud her judgment.

"Tell you what," Talia said in a cool tone, "release me, and I'll let Moka go as well." She smiled like an angel. "A prisoner exchange if you will."

Akuha lifted an eyebrow. "Th- that's it?" She expected something far more complicated.

"Are you disappointed? I'm giving you a bargain, I insist that you take it."

Akuha grumbled, but finally let go of Talia. She considered walking her to the guards before releasing her instead, but it was a bit of a gamble. Akuha readied the Jigen-Tou technique in her right hand. There would be nothing left to stop her from chopping Talia to pieces once Moka was safe. As Talia was halfway across the room, the guards let Moka go. A frightened Moka began to run towards Akuha and Tsukune.

Talia stopped and turned her head. "Au revoir, assassin." she said. From where her heels were, the floor suddenly separated. The entire half of the room that Akuha and Tsukune stood in started dropping straight down. "Such a simple plan succeeded?" Talia said, "You are so sentimental."

From the half of the room still attached to the airship, Moka ran to the ledge, extending her arm out. It looked as if she were calling one of their names, but the screeching metal drowned out whatever she was saying.

It felt as if everything was moving in slow motion. "Moka…" Akuha whispered to herself. She watched as the two guards grabbed her little sister again, pulling her back. "_Screw this_…" Akuha thought. She raised her right hand straight up, as if readying a karate chop. She would only have one shot at this. "Hogetsu Jigen-Tou!" An invisible cutting force zoomed through the air, shredding through the floor and ceiling at a long distance from her. "It worked?" she said in surprise, "I used the Jigen-Tou perfectly?" It seemed that she spoke too soon, as the Jigen-Tou dispersed halfway through Moka's half of the room. Nonetheless, both halves of the dinning hall were detached from the airship. Everything that Akuha could see began to drop from the belly of the ship and into the open air.

"So," Talia said calmly, "she really _has_ mastered the technique." As she began to fall, her black-feathered wings sprouted back out noisily from her back. "Remarkable." Her wings flapped as she flew out of view.

Akuha spread her arms out, making a skydiving pose as she began to fall. They were certainly high up, as they headed straight for a lair of clouds. After they passed through it, she saw what awaited them below. "Water!" she yelled. The airship had been flying above an ocean or large lake. Obviously, it must have been Talia that had changed the airship's flight route.

Akuha quickly looked around as she was falling. Dozens of chairs and a few tables surrounded her, and to her left were the two insignificant Fairy Tale guards, both flailing their arms around in panic.

"Akuha!" Tsukune was heard shouting.

"Tsuk! Where are you?" Akuha shouted, looking in all directions, "I don't see you!"

"Look up!"

Akuha turned her head and saw Tsukune falling a few feet above her. She used the air resistance to control her fall a little, moving 'up' and grabbing Tsukune's hand. "Don't let go!" she yelled.

Catching up with them was Moka, whom had her eyes closed and was huddled in a timid cannonball. Her long pink hair extended straight up in the wind. "I wish I were back at **school**!" she yelled, petrified with displeasure.

Akuha brought out her free hand. "Moka! Give me your hand."

Moka got out of her huddle and took her sister's hand.

Akuha noticed they were getting awfully close to the surface of the water. Water would badly harm both her and Moka, while Tsukune would eventually drown. "After all the battles I've endured," Akuha thought, "this is a hell of a one-way ticket." She plunged into the water, an opponent that she could not fight back against.

XXX

**Yōkai Academy**

"Mr. Maki, I got a question," Kurumu said with her hand raised, "is Jesus the first zombie?" The class chuckled around her.

Mr. Maki groaned. "That's completely off topic Ms. Kurono, but no." He adjusted his dark shaded glasses. "Technically, Jesus was never a zombie to begin with."

"But they say '_on the third day he rose again_' right?" Kurumu shrugged, "He dies and gets back up. That sounds like a zombie to me."

Mr. Maki put his palm to his face. "Zombies are reanimated _dead_ bodies. They're classified as undead." His hand slid down. "Jesus was resurrected _from_ the dead and became _alive_ again." He looked like he was starting to get annoyed. "Does that answer your question?"

Kurumu rested an elbow onto her desk and put her cheek against her hand. "Whatever…"

"Okay then." Mr. Maki looked back at the chalkboard. "Back to the lesson."

Kurumu let out a loud yawn.

Mr. Maki wrote the phrase 'I ran' onto the board. "So class, is this a complete sentence?"

"No, that's a country." Kurumu said. The classroom broke out into laughter.

Mr. Maki's hands looked like they were shaking. He erased what was on the board and quickly rewrote the phrase, this time putting a _large_ space between 'I' and 'ran'. "So…" he said irritated, "is this a complete sentence or not?"

"It's a complete sentence," Yukari said as she stood up, "we have a noun, a verb, and a complete idea."

"Magnificent, Ms. Sendo." Mr. Maki snapped his finger with a grin. "It's good to know that at least _someone_ is taking their education seriously."

Yukari sat down. "Thanks Mr. Maki!"

"Know-it-all." Kurumu mumbled.

Yukari stuck her tongue out.

XXX

Ruby poked through her room, unable to fine her spell book. "Where is it?" she spat. She looked through every drawer and under every loose paper. It actually proved challenging to navigate through her own room, as she only used it for storage. The rarity of her ever being here was just to sleep. She was always busy during the day, working as a substitute teacher or on a special task the headmaster would occasionally give her.

A knock was heard at her door.

Ruby sighed and pulled herself together. "It's unlocked, you can come in." she said.

The door opened. Kurumu, Yukari, and Mizore each walked in respectively.

"Hey Ruby," Kurumu said, noticing the mess, "looking for something?"

"Yeah, I can't find my spell book." Ruby motioned towards her desk. "I could have sworn I had _just_ left it right there."

"Happens to everyone." Yukari shrugged. "You remember where you left it, yet it's gone. When you finally give up looking for it, it turns up in a stupid place like under your bed." She brought up her wand and looked at it. "I couldn't find my wand just four days ago."

Mizore remained silent.

Ruby sat down on her bed, a number of papers on it as well. "So what brings the three of you here?" She looked from one girl to the next. "Is it something to do with the newspaper club?"

"It's nothing like that," Kurumu said, "both Moka and Tsukune are missing."

Ruby made a worried look. "Missing?"

Yukari nodded her head up and down. "Moka was here yesterday," she said, "but today she hasn't appeared at any of her classes."

Mizore pulled out her lollipop from her mouth. "And Tsukune never showed up at all."

"So you think they're in trouble or something?" Ruby asked.

"No, not really," Kurumu said, "I'll bet Moka stole him away, trying to keep him to herself." She brought her fist up. "There's no way I'm leaving those two _alone_ with each other." Her fist looked like it was shaking.

Ruby blinked, unsure of what to make of this. "So what do you want _me_ to do about it?"

"I thought you might have a locater spell to find them," Yukari said, "I don't know any such spell."

"Then I got just what you're looking for," Ruby said, adjusted one of her pigtails, "if you could help me find my spell book first of course."

"You mean this?" Mizore said from underneath Ruby's desk. She held out a large book.

"What!" Ruby shouted. "But I'm sure that I already checked back there."

XXX

The four of them walked onto the ever-familiar bus. As Yōkai Academy had many protective barriers, it wasn't easy to get in or out, even _with_ the headmaster's permission. To get through the tunnels, one would need an object that's place of origin is Yōkai Academy, like a holy lock, to find the school's coordinates in the teleporting network. Even then, one would need to be a very trained and experienced portal jumper.

"Don't you think that's an invasion of privacy?" Kurumu asked, taking a seat, "That spell the headmaster set up, the one that finds students on campus."

Ruby sat at the front-most seat. "The school's barrier?" She looked over at Kurumu. "No, that particular function only tells us if a student is on campus at all. It doesn't tell us _where_ said student is."

"Ah." Kurumu looked away.

The Bus Driver grasped the wheel, maintaining his usual frozen smile. "Where to girls?"

Ruby put a finger to her chin. She didn't exactly know where they would be going. When she found that neither Moka nor Tsukune were on campus, she decided that she would have to cast the locate spell in the human world. "You know where Tsukune's hometown is? Let's try some remote area near there."

The Bus Driver's smile widened. "Hold on tight." The bus started up and sped into the tunnel, passing through it and entering the human world rather quickly. They found themselves on the country road.

As the bus slowed down to a normal speed, Ruby turned around, putting her knees onto her seat and looking over the backrest. "You brought Moka's hairbrush like I asked?" Ruby asked Yukari.

Yukari, whom was cuddling the hairbrush, jumped in surprise. "Huh! Uh… yeah, I got it right here." She held it up, countless strings of Moka's hair hung down from it. "What's it for anyways?"

"You'll see." Ruby said.

The bus came to a stop, and they each got off. One by one the girls stepped onto the gravel by the road.

"It's a little hot today." Mizore said, putting her hand up to shield her face from the sun. It was indeed quite a warm day. Anyone else would have dubbed it a 'nice day'. It was a good thing for her that it was close to sunset now.

As the bus practically vanished away, Ruby pulled out her wand and winked. "I can call him to come pick us up at anytime." She held out her other hand towards Yukari. "The hairbrush please." Yukari passed it to her. "Now then…" She began to wave her wand around, as if casting a spell. With a sparkling noise, the likeness of a purple see-through dog or wolf began to appear in front of her.

"Wow, that's awesome!" Kurumu said.

The celestial canine panted and sat obediently. At that, Ruby held out Moka's hairbrush and let it sniff it. After half a minute passed, the canine barked and began to float down the country road, moving with astounding speed.

Ruby pointed her wand in an exaggerated fashion. "_**Follow that dog**_!" she roared.

XXX

To be continued in next chapter.

* * *

**You can probably tell by the Jesus joke that this chapter was supposed to be released on Easter.**

**Mr. Maki is not an OC. He was briefly seen and introduced in Manga issue II chapter 26 page 10 or 11 as the Yōkai Academy English teacher.**

**Indiana Jones quote: "All I have to do is squeeze."**

**Edit: *Face Palm* Damn trolls and nitpickers…**

**I thought by now that the references would be obvious. _Every_ OC so far has made a "shout out" to another media. For example, Cabbit32 already pointed out the Code Geass Easter Egg.**

**If fan-made content based on someone else's work pisses you off, why are you even reading fanfiction?**


	19. Chpt 19: Instigation

**Said by Legend96: "I would like to see Tsukune kiss Akuha in this fanfiction"**

**People would like to see that wouldn't they? One of the main focuses of this fiction however is to simply _add _Akuha to the harem, and not throw the others under the bus. All the characters are supposed to hold up to their canon personalities, so having Tsukune and Akuha kiss is not something I can take lightly.**

* * *

**7 Years Ago – The Shuzen Household**

"Don't say I didn't tell you so." A nine-year-old Moka said. In her arms was the Azeban she found in the woods two weeks ago. She was carrying it like someone would hold a cat.

"Tell me what?" Akuha asked, opening one of the many back doors of the house.

Moka walked outside. "You told me that he wouldn't be grateful; that he would cause us a lot of trouble." She scratched the Azeban on the head. "The last two weeks, he's been very nice."

They stood facing a long flight of stone steps below them. "He took one of your teddy bears," Akuha said, "and I remember that he broke a few windows too."

Moka looked to her sister and grinned. "Hey, he took the bear only because he wanted to play keep-away," she said, walking down the steps, "and all those windows were broken cause Kokoa was chasing him around." As she wasn't looking forward, her foot slipped over one of the steps, and began to trip forward. "Ah!"

Akuha sped three steps forward and moved in front of Moka. While bent down, she brought her right hand out and gently caught Moka below the shoulder. With her left hand, she caught the Azeban that went flying.

Moka laughed in a sporty fashion. "Show off!"

The both of them climbed down the _long_ staircase and walked into the nearby woods. It took a while, but eventually they reached the spot where Moka first found the Azeban when it was hurt.

"I wonder what hurt him so badly in the first place." Akuha said.

Moka shrugged and put the Azeban down. "Okay little guy," she said, "you're free to go."

The Azeban didn't run off. Instead, it looked up at Moka and whined.

Akuha made a 'shooing' motion with her hand. "Go on, get out of here."

The Azeban gazed at them for a moment longer, before finally turning around and walking into the bushes.

"I'm going to miss him," Moka said. She brought her hand up and began to wave. "Goodbye!"

Akuha kept her opinion to herself. "Good riddance…" she thought in her head, "at least I won't have to clean up another '_mess_' of his."

Moka looked her sister's direction. "Why do you look so relieved?" she asked.

"Huh?" Akuha huddled her arms in a guilty gesture. "Sorry, it's just that I prefer dogs."

Moka made an aggravated expression.

Akuha dropped her arms down. "Alright, alright…" She looked over at the bushes that rattled in the wind. "I'll admit, for a trickster animal he was pretty well behaved." The wind really started to pick up, blowing her short hair and Moka's long hair to the side. Akuha brought her hand up, shielding her eyes. "Lets get back inside."

Moka smiled. "Sure thing, Nee-sama."

They turned around and started walking up the annoyingly long staircase. As they ascended, Akuha started to rethink her opinion on the Azeban. Moka had shown it kindness, seeking nothing in return. In spite of what Azebans were expected to do, it had been very grateful to them and didn't cause much trouble in the house. Such actions were considered unnatural to its species. It was almost as odd as a vampire learning to appreciate a human. Overcoming natural instincts in favor of feelings…

Behind the sisters, the Azeban sniffed around below the trees, trying to familiarize itself with the forest again. Watching him from above was a large raven, sitting on a branch. It blinked its purple eyes.

XXX

**Rocky Shores**

The sun was beginning to set, and the horizon was turning red. Pelicans could be heard chirping as water creeped up and down the sand, wave after wave. While sand covered most of the beach, hundreds of large rocks and boulders were spread around everywhere, some the size of cars and buildings.

From out of the ocean, Akuha sped onto the shore, holding onto both Moka and Tsukune. As they came onto the dry sand, Akuha fumbled to the ground, letting go of Moka and Tsukune and dropping them onto the soft sand. Too exhausted to even slow down, Akuha tumbled against the sand and smashed into a flat rock wall.

Tsukune rolled over and got onto his knees. He was dizzy, and could hardly remember what happened since falling into the water. He could almost swear that there was no splash. "What just happened?" he said, looking along his arms, "I'm… not even wet." Everything felt like a blur to him.

Moka pushed off the ground and sat on the fluffy sand. "Well… I'm not complaining, Tsukune." She placed a hand to her stomach and made a deep exhale. "I don't know how, but we're still alive." She looked from the ocean, and then to her sister, who lay flat on her back further up the shore. She was shuddering as if being electrocuted. Her clothes were wet and incredibly soggy.

"Akuha!" Tsukune shouted. Both he and Moka ran up to her. She was breathing, but still didn't appear to be well.

Akuha was worn-out, both physically and mentally. She has been using the Jigen-Tou technique to phase herself, Moka, and Tsukune all out of existence at once. After falling 'through' the water, she began to run towards land as fast as she could. She had been running nonstop, all while concentrating on keeping their existence delayed, for almost an entire hour. Little by little, the one that she thought of least, herself, had slowly phased back into existence. Weary, drained, lightheaded, and slowly drowning, all that Akuha could think of doing was to continue running in the same direction.

"Akuha!" Tsukune shouted again, this time grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her. She coughed a few times.

Moka looked down at her sister, making an upset frown. "Oh dear," Moka said, "We've got to dry her off as soon as possible!"

"How do you suggest we do that?" Tsukune asked, "We don't have a towel or hairdryer."

Moka made a pondering stance. "Her clothes are carrying water, aside from that, she should dry up on her own pretty quick."

"Wait a sec," Tsukune said nervously, "are you saying that I… that I need to take Akuha's clothes off?"

"Humans do that to keep from catching a cold right? I don't see any other way."

Tsukune stared down at Akuha, hesitating. "You think she… would get mad at me for doing this?"

"Tsukune, this is a matter of life and death!" Moka said loudly. Yelling like this was unusual for her, but she knew how much water hurt a vampire.

"Okay! Okay!" Tsukune unbuttoned Akuha's shirt. Carefully, he took it off from her at handed it to Moka to be folded and set down. "Uh…" He felt awkward, looking at a shirtless and unconscious Akuha. She still wore a bra but…

"Her pants too, Tsukune!"

"Wh- wh- wh- what!"

Akuha suddenly hurled out a bit of water. After a few coughs, she stopped breathing.

Moka made a tense look. "Tsukune, do you know CPR?"

"A little," he said, looking back at Moka, "you?"

Moka shook her head.

Tsukune looked down at Akuha. "Alright, here goes nothing…" He hurriedly pressed down on Akuha's chest over and over. For some reason, Akuha blushed a little, as if enjoying it. Tsukune then tried mouth to mouth, putting his lips onto hers.

Akuha's eyes shot open. "Mmp!" she muffled.

"Nee-sama! You're okay!" Moka cheered.

Tsukune pulled his head back. "You okay?"

Akuha coughed a few times and sat up. "Why… why did you take my _shirt_ off?" she asked, wide-eyed, "Tsuk, were you just… kissing me?"

"Your clothes were wet and you stopped breathing," Tsukune said, putting his hands up as if expecting Akuha to hit him, "don't look at me! It was Moka's idea, and she doesn't know CPR."

Rather than get angry, she made a heavy blush. "Th… thanks." she said, looking the other way. She brought a finger to her lip and felt it briefly. "It wasn't the real thing…"

"Akuha," Tsukune brought a hand to his shirt collar and lowered it, "since you're hurt, you can-"

Akuha immediately grabbed Tsukune and bit into his neck.

XXX

After drying up, Akuha was fairly quick to throw her shirt back on. While she was no longer wet, she still felt as if she were glued to the ground. Seeing as how she needed rest, the three of them passed the time by asking and answering questions around a small campfire Tsukune made.

Akuha carefully filled in any blanks for them, letting them get a better grasp on the situation. They had already seen a lot of what she was talking about firsthand, and so getting them to believe her wasn't a problem.

"Wait," Tsukune said, "where does that raven girl fit into all of this?"

"I don't know much about her. I always thought she was just a messenger, but clearly there's more to her."

"What kind of monster is she?" Moka asked, "Those wings remind me of a Siren."

"She's calls herself a 'Lecorjamasi', probably a distant cousin." Akuha looked up at the sky. It was still bright out, even while the sun was almost down. "Her kind is weak, and certainly not fit for battle. What worries me most is the fact that I know so little about her."

Moka put her palms closer to the fire they sat around. "Enemies are scary when they're mysterious I guess."

Akuha made an empty stare at the fire. How could she, a vampire, consider a lesser being like Talia a force to be reckoned with? Thinking back on it, Talia did away with overseer by staging someone else to kill him. She was a schemer, and was pretty good at planning out events. She also seemed to understand the psyche fairly well. Whenever in the same room as her, it felt as if she were dissecting your very thoughts. To mask it all, she acted and appeared very charming at first glance. "Cunning, manipulative, and alluring…" Akuha muttered, "I guess when you think about it, she's more of a '_devil_' than I am."

"How's that?" Tsukune said with a hand forward, "Sure she's a bad person, but I wouldn't say she embodies '_the devil_' at all."

Akuha thought this was a dumb thing to be talking about, but she was bored. What else was there to do anyways? "Tsuk, what exactly is the devil? How do you define what Satan does, literally or figuratively?"

"Well…" Tsukune's eyes rolled to the side, "'lord of all evil' is how I would put it."

Akuha shook her head. "Satan is not some big-horned monster trying to scare you; Satan is a pretty girl with long legs and a bathing suit."

"Satan is… sexy?" Tsukune had a hard time keeping himself from laughing. "Is that seriously what you're trying to say?"

"In a way, it sort of is. I know it sounds funny, but just bare with me Tsuk." Akuha scratched her head and took a breath. "Satan is temptation, temptation to do the wrong thing, such as lust, greed, gluttony, anger… whatever. From what I've seen, Talia uses these as tools to get what she wants."

Moka and Tsukune just looked at her.

Akuha wave a hand up. "Hey, I read it in some book once." Just as Tsukune was about to respond, Akuha felt something rapidly approaching them. "Watch out!" she yelled, tackling Tsukune out of its path. Suddenly, a blue and yellow blur plunged right into the ground like a javelin, right where Tsukune had been sitting.

Moka had fallen on her back, clouds of sand was all around her. "What the…"

Akuha turned her head and saw Kurumu's lower body, sticking straight up from out of the ground. She yelled in a muffled voice from under the sand, kicking around trying to get free. "Is that… Kurumu? How'd she find us?" Akuha got up and walked over to the succubus. She grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her out of the sand like a vegetable.

"Kurumu!" Ruby whined from above, "You didn't have to leave us behind like that!" She began to float down, carrying both Mizore and Yukari with her. It looked like she was struggling not to drop them. "It's not easy holding two you know." Next to her was a purple transparent wolf. It barked and disappeared.

As the girls settled onto the beach, Kurumu, Yukari, Mizore, and Ruby all bear hugged Tsukune at once. They all at once started yelling about how worried they were, though it was difficult to make sense of what they were saying.

"Wait!" Moka said as she ran up to them, "You're hurting him!" She grabbed Tsukune as well, trying to pull him away from the other girls.

"Not again…" Akuha moaned.

XXX

The seven of them took a seat in the Yōkai Academy bus, each sitting in the six front-most seats. Akuha sat alone, across from Tsukune and Moka. Before long, the bus entered into a dark tunnel.

"There's _another_ one?" Akuha thought to herself, "Tsuk certainly is popular. Exactly how many girls are there?"

"So, you're Moka's oldest sister." Ruby said from the seat in front of her.

Akuha looked up at the girl. "Yeah, I am."

Ruby looked puzzled. "You don't look much like Moka or Kokoa."

"The three of us each have a different mother." Akuha said, "Wait a second." She folded her arms. "How do you know Kokoa as well?"

"She's a student at Yōkai Academy too. She just enrolled a short time ago."

"I guessing she did so to be close to Moka." Akuha hadn't forgotten how clingy Kokoa was. "She deeply idolizes her… perhaps a little too much."

"Sounds like you truly are their older sister."

Akuha studied the girl. What kind of monster was she? Akuha was betting that she was another witch, but it didn't hurt to be sure. "Your name is Ruby, right? What kind of monster are you?"

"A witch, like Yukari." She brought up her wand with both hands. "I thought the wand would make it obvious." She looked down on it. "Although to be fair, I had it put away until now."

One other thought was going through Akuha's head. Was Ruby as vulgar as the younger witch? "How do you feel about Tsukune?" she asked.

"Huh?" Ruby suddenly looked delighted by the question. She looked over at Moka and Tsukune, whom were busy speaking to each other. Ruby leaned over her seat, and brought a hand next to her mouth to keep the others from hearing. "I really like him," she said quietly, "in fact, I took a job here mainly so I could be close to him"

"Just great…" Akuha thought. "So uh," she spoke quietly, "why do _you_ like him?"

Ruby made a gloomy face. "Well, my parents-"

"We're here!" Kurumu shouted.

Akuha looked out the window. The sun had already set, but she could still see the forest of dead trees nearby. To their right was a large cliff, overlooking a body of red water. Behind the dead forest, the tops of buildings could be seen at a distance. Moka nudged Akuha's shoulder.

"Welcome to Yōkai Academy, Nee-sama." Moka said.

XXX

**Yōkai Academy – The Headmaster's Office**

Tenmei Mikogami, otherwise known as the Exorcist, was filling out a number of papers on his desk. His office was quite barren as well as shady.

"Uh, headmaster?" Ruby said, opening the door to his office. "We found Moka and Tsukune."

"Good." What appeared to be the Exorcist's 'eyes' under his hood looked up at his assistant. "And are Ms. Akashiya and Mr. Aono unharmed?"

"They're fine but…" Ruby walked into the room, motioning someone behind her to follow. "There was someone else with them." Akuha came into the room. "Headmaster, this is Akuha Shuzen, Moka's older half-sister." Ruby looked to Akuha. "Akuha, this is-"

"Tenmei Mikogami," Akuha interrupted her, "the headmaster of Yōkai Academy and one of the three 'Great Dark Rulers'." She was all too familiar with the identities of the Dark Rulers, the other two being Fuhai Touhou and Moka's own mother.

"And they call you '_The Black Devil_'," The Exorcist said, "a famed killer that made countless enemies in the criminal underground."

Ruby looked back and forth between them. "Have you two met before?" she said in surprise.

Akuha kept a confident poker face. "No, but it seems we know _of_ each other." It was a shame Mikogami had recognized her so quickly. Considering how infamous she was, she would probably be asked to leave before long.

The Exorcist sat there motionless. "I recognize that an organization called 'Fairy Tale' wants something with Ms. Akashiya."

Akuha made a 'yes' motion. "That would be correct. They need her for something, though I don't have the foggiest idea what." The Exorcist looked back at her without a word. "Mikogami, I know what you're probably thinking. It would be dangerous to have someone like me on your school campus, but try to understand." She walked closer to the Exorcist's desk. "I don't know how they got through your protective barrier, but they've taken Moka while she was on school grounds before. I have no reason to believe they won't try it again."

"You wish to remain here," The Exorcist said, "so that you may protect your sister above all?"

Akuha wore her battle look. She didn't know what Fairy Tale was planning to do, and she knew how illusive they could be when they didn't want to be found. All that she could do was to wait for them to come to her, while watching over Moka of course. "That's right." Akuha placed her hand to her chest. "I must ask you, please allow me to-"

"You have my permission."

"Eh…" Akuha made a befuddled stare at the Exorcist. "Just… just like that?"

"I understand your situation more than you realize."

Akuha heaved a sigh. Mikogami was like a far more composed version of the overseer. "You're… not worried I could hurt someone?"

"You won't." The Exorcist said. He sounded quite sure of himself. "You wish to remain close to your sister, I see nothing wrong with that." He sat up and leaned forward, placing his hands on his desk. "However, this isn't a charity. Letting you stay here won't be for free."

"Okay, name your price." Akuha said, "What do you want from me?"

XXX

**Yōkai Academy – Ruby and Akuha's Dormitory**

"I can't believe the headmaster gave you a job!" Ruby said rather cheerfully.

Akuha sat on a new bed at the other side of the room. She was huddled up, as all she was wearing was a bathrobe. Her normal clothes were currently being washed. "I find it odd that he would trust me so quickly, I mean, we just met."

Ruby sat on her own bed from her side of the room. "The headmaster would not have let you stay if he had any doubts about you."

Akuha sat there silently, quite differently from her usual behavior. One would think she were timid the way she sat huddled up. "The school security guard…" Akuha whispered, "I guess I'm fine with this. I love to fight after all." She had just been given a job here at the school. In return, she would be allowed to stay and would have free access to food and a place to sleep.

"It's like the headmaster is all knowing." Ruby said, pulling a paper off her bed. "I need to clean up now that I got a roommate."

Akuha didn't much mind sharing the room. Ruby seemed to be mature, and reasonably calm. Still, the mess of papers everywhere was a little bothersome. Akuha looked around their room. A bed lay at both sides; between them was a desk in front of a large window that had a perfect view of the Academy's courtyard; the desk was straight across from the door. There wasn't much else to say beside the hundreds of papers everywhere. "Are you usually this messy?" Akuha asked.

"No!" Ruby yelled in an apologetic manner, "Certainly not! I'm just busy all the time, so this mess just tends to pile up."

Akuha nodded her head and looked away. "Hey," she said, looking back at Ruby, "back on the bus, you were about to tell me something about your parents."

"Oh, that." Ruby seemed gloomy again. "Just leave it alone please. I shouldn't have brought it up."

XXX

Tsukune had missed only two days of school, the first of which focused mainly on introductions, and so catching up was somewhat easy. He usually never did well with classes or studies, but a quick evening class got him back on track. Moka seemed to grasp everything a lot quicker than he did though.

"Finally…" Tsukune said as they walked out of the classroom, "it's about time we're done. It's already past ten o'clock." He made a lengthy yawn. "I'm real sleepy now…" The two of them began to walk down the school hallways.

"I'm more hungry than sleepy." Moka said. She looked ahead and noticed her older sister leaning against the wall. She was apparently waiting for them to finish their class. "Hey Nee-sama." Moka waved.

Akuha, whom had been daydreaming, brought her head up. "Hey…" she said. She looked like she had just taken a bath, and her regular outfit was squeaky clean.

"I guess…" Tsukune began to say, "that we'll meet again?"

"Don't think you can get rid of me so easily, Tsuk." Akuha smiled. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Huh?" Tsukune mused, "Are you attending classes here too or something?"

"Nope. The headmaster gave me a job here, much like he did with Ruby." Akuha pushed off the wall and stood up straight. "I'm going to be staying here for a while."

"That's great!" Moka said excited, "If only Kahlua were here too, then that would be all _four_ of us sisters."

Akuha made a worried look at Kahlua's mentioning. Exactly how was she right now? What happened to her after getting those harsh injuries? For that matter, how was Earl Grey? Hopefully a mere dog would be overlooked, but Talia obviously knew of Akuha's attachment to the dog.

"Kahlua?" Tsukune scratched his head. "I'm guessing she's the only sister of yours I haven't met."

Moka pointed her index finger up. "She's the second oldest."

"For that matter," Akuha interrupted them, "where would Kokoa be right now? I haven't seen her in a really long time."

Moka blinked. "She's probably asleep in the dorms, you'll have to say hi to her tomorrow."

Akuha nodded with a grin. "I think I'll surprise her…"

XXX

To be continued in next chapter…

* * *

**On this line: "Uh…" Tsukune's eyes rolled to the side, "lord of all evil?"**

**I was SO tempted to instead say "lord of the land of fire" as a joking reference, meaning 'hell' when I mention the 'land of fire'. I figured it might offend him cause I would fundamentally be calling him Satan, so I took it out. I respect said author as he doesn't write Gary Sue fics.**


	20. Chpt 20: Insertion

**Said by finalsacre: "I think Akula is a little too overpower"That's been addressed since chapter 4, and is the reason why all the villains are _way _stronger than the ones we're used to in canon. So far, every one of Akuha's opponents has had some kind of nerf for the Jigen-Tou.**

* * *

**Yōkai Academy – Courtyard **

Ginei peeped his camera out of the bushes, stalking the many freshman girls that stood nearby. He looked from one skirt and pair of legs to the next, not satisfied with any of them.

"Too chunky…" Ginei moved onto the next one. "Too ordinary…" He moved to a group of three girls talking to each other. One had short pink hair, one had blue ponytails, and one had shoulder length blond hair. Besides their hair, they each looked identical. "None of them are very pretty," Ginei said weakly, "I wonder if _any_ of the new girls are good-looking." As he zoomed the camera in and out, he heard a noise behind him. "Huh? What was that?" He spun around and found the lower body of a young woman facing him. She was wearing a black outfit and knee-high battle boots in place of the standard school uniform. "Damn, this girl has got some _**nice**_ legs!" Ginei began snapping photos. "They're so long, slender, and smooth!" Before he knew it, his camera suddenly disappeared from his hands.

"I'll take that." Akuha said as she set the camera next to her hip.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Ginei barked as he stood up. Leaves, moss, and twigs were all over his uniform.

Akuha made a threatening look. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm confiscating your camera."

"You can't just steal it!"

"Actually," Akuha grinned, "as the new school security guard, I can." She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small book. "The handbook says that I cannot allow your bad conduct." She wasn't making the rule up. Yesterday she had _slaved_ over reading the whole thing in one night.

Ginei made a guiltless look. "Bad conduct? What did I do?"

Akuha made a blank face. "I know you weren't taking pictures of daisies."

Ginei looked up and down the girl's body. Sure she had a mean attitude, but she also had a sort of appeal about her. Her legs, butt, and hips more than made up for her less-than-average breasts. "Do you know Karate?" Ginei said, "Cause your body's kicking!"

Akuha made a confused look. She didn't know what that was supposed to mean. "Karate?" She put her hand to her chin. "I don't know that, but I _do_ know Kenpō, Muay Thai, Góuquán, Tai chi chuan, Zui Quan, and a little bit of Korean Taekwondo."

Ginei just stared at her. "Uh, you know… that was just a pick-up line."

"Pick-up line?" Akuha said, "I don't know what that…" It clicked in her head that Ginei was flirting with her. "Oh." Akuha was familiar with the idea, just not the term. It was Ginei's tone and body language that gave away what he was doing.

Ginei grasped his chin. "Tai chi…" He whispered to himself. He was sure that most of the martial arts Akuha referred to was Chinese. "Hey, do you know any Drunken Boxing?"

"Zui Quan _is_ Drunken Boxing."

"Nice." Ginei grasped Akuha's right hand. "I'm sorry, where are my manners today?" He brought her hand up, about to lean over and kiss it. "I'm Ginei Morioka, nice to meet you."

Akuha yanked her hand back before Ginei could kiss it. "And my name is Akuha Shuzen."

"Shuzen?" Ginei looked surprised. "Oh, so you must be Moka and Kokoa's sister." He looked back at Akuha's legs. "That explains a lot," he looked at her chest, "and raises some questions." SLAP! A red mark in the outline of a hand appeared on Ginei's face. "Oww…"

Akuha really didn't like this guy. Not only did he comment on her breasts, which she was sensitive over, but his deceitful attitude also reminded her of _someone else_ she loathed. Atop of all that, it was blatantly obvious that Ginei was a "Pervert…"

"Heh," Ginei rubbed his check, "like I've never heard that before." He could tell by the Akuha's fiery attitude that she was most certainly Moka's sister. "What a bitchy family," Ginei thought to himself, "Moka is arrogant, Kokoa is homicidal, and Akuha has a nasty temper."

"Hey Gin! Hey Akuha!" Tsukune shouted at a distance. He speed walked up to them.

Akuha looked over her shoulder at Tsukune. "You know this guy, Tsuk?"

Ginei looked goaded. "I know your sisters," he said to Akuha, "of course I know Tsukune as well."

Akuha glanced back at Ginei. "I just assumed Moka was popular. It's my first day on the job and I can already tell that." Akuha looked apathetic. "Are you two friends?" She hoped not.

"He's the president of the newspaper club." Tsukune said.

"He is?" Akuha's eyes fell upon the camera under her own arm.

"That's right," Ginei said, "I'm usually the one taking pictures for the paper." He brought his hand out. "So do you see now why I need that camera back?"

"I don't care what club you're apart of. It's still in my jurisdiction to _smash_ _it_ if you keep taking the wrong _kinds_ pictures."

"Smash it?" Ginei tried a calm expression. "I can always buy another, I got money."

"Okay then, every time I catch you peeking at girl's panties, I'll break your camera so you can pay for another one."

"Akuha," Tsukune put his hand on her shoulder, "can you please just give it back?"

Akuha rolled her eyes. "Fine… whatever." She handed it back to Ginei.

"You got a way with the ladies, Tsukune." While Ginei would have been glad to get his camera back, he was bothered by how Akuha obeyed Tsukune so quickly. Does she like him too? How many girls would that make if she did? Six? Seven?

"Most of our classes are done," Tsukune said in a good mood, "right about now is when we meet up in the newspaper club room."

"Didn't you say Kokoa was a member too?"

"Yup," Tsukune nodded, "if the three of us hurry, we could make it there before she does. You said you wanted to surprise her, didn't you?"

Akuha waved her hands up timidly, just as Outer Moka often did. "I never said I wanted to do anything fancy, I just wanted to say hello face-to-face. No one tells her I'm here sooner than that."

XXX

Kokoa read a question on her pop quiz: 'What was the purpose of The Bay of Pigs in April 1961?' Kokoa thought for a moment. "Why should I bother learning human history? It won't help me." She couldn't think of the answer, and just wrote 'kill pigs'. She read the next question: 'What does ICBM stand for?' she couldn't think of the answer for this either, and wrote 'I see a bowel movement'. The next question asked: 'How did the Cuban Missile Crisis end?' She wrote 'Boringly' as her answer.

Eventually, Kokoa handed in her test and ran out the door. "I hate history class." She said. The next place she headed for was the newspaper clubroom. She wasn't in any hurry. Her 'real' sister was sealed up and she didn't much like the others anyways.

After a walk across campus, Kokoa got to the clubroom door and opened it without a word, not giving any form of hello to the others. The history quiz had put her in a bad mood already. She looked at the table and found the usual newspaper club members sitting there, as well as one other.

"Hey Kokoa." Akuha said with a wave.

"_**Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh**_!" Kokoa screamed and ran out the door.

All of them stared speechless at the open door.

"Uh… Akuha?" Tsukune said, "Is there something we should know? Like did you have a fight with her last time you met?"

"No," Akuha said, "but she knows I'm an assassin, just like Kahlua. Maybe she took seeing me as a sign of danger."

Moka shrugged. "Little Kokoa always _has_ been afraid of you and Kahlua."

XXX

Kokoa leaned against the wall in an alleyway between two club buildings, carefully peeking around the corner. She rarely ever showed fear before a fight, but other vampires were a special case. She considered none more powerful than they were, and would only cower before a much older, more developed vampire. She was also quite aware of how strong her sister was.

"Why is she here?" Kokoa whispered, "Who has she come to kill today?"

Akuha suddenly jumped from one of the rooftops and landed next to Kokoa in the alleyway. "Kokoa, I haven't come to kill anyone. Not _this time_ anyways. Don't worry."

Kokoa took a deep breath. "Last time we met, I saw you slaughtering everyone in sight. Sure they were enemies of father, but still, you didn't need to be so brutal."

Akuha scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, sorry you had to see that."

"So why are you here if you're not on a hit?"

"Just protecting Moka," Akuha said with her arms crossed, "well, and my friends too I guess."

"Friends?" Kokoa was rather surprised that Akuha would consider the other friends. Then again, Akuha wasn't the prideful one between siblings. "But aren't us vampires solitary? Like the way invincible Moka is."

Invincible Moka is what Kokoa called her? "I'm not breaking any rule Kokoa."

"I'm not talking about rules, I'm talking about guidelines." Kokoa's pigtails waved as she tilted her head. "The _real_ Moka once told me a long time ago, she told me that becoming friends with lesser beings would make us weaker." The two stared at each other for a moment. "That's how she worded it anyways."

Akuha put her right hand to her own hip. "You think that being friends with Tsuk and the others will make me weak? That it's below me to become one of _them_?"

Kokoa didn't answer. She was still young and immature, she knew it, but she was only reciting what she had been taught.

"I'm still worlds apart from the other girls." Akuha put her left hand to her chest. "So what if Tsuk is not a vampire? He is Tsukune and Tsukune is all that he is."

"But what about pride? Even father talked about it all the time."

"True, we have our pride, but _**I**_ have my principles." Akuha brought her left hand down. "I choose my own path to follow, and that's _always_ what's made me strong."

Kokoa made a smirk. She sometimes enjoyed hearing Akuha's theatrical 'warrior' speeches. She seemed to take pride in herself rather than her race.

"Shall we return to the newspaper club room?" Akuha asked.

"Sure thing," Kokoa said. They began to walk back. "Are you a member of the club too?" she asked, "I mean, Ruby was allowed to join."

"Sorry," Akuha shook her head, "but I can only stop by and say hi."

XXX

**Yōkai Academy – School Grounds**

Near the art building, a crowd of students gathered around to watch a fight between two huge freshmen Cyclopes.

"Stubborn jackass!" Yelled one of the Cyclopes.

"Jabber mouth!" Yelled the other.

Both of the towering yōkai lunged at each other with their fists forward, about to punch each other. Suddenly, a dark blur zoomed in midair between their fists. Akuha gave a light shove with her palms against both their hands, causing them to fall off course and miss each other. They landed on their stomachs.

"Hey, what gives?" One of the Cyclopes shouted.

All the students watched, filled with awe. "Who is that?" One student asked.

Akuha landed and stood back up, spreading her arms out for a Chinese Kenpō stance. "Break it up," she said, "or don't. I could use the entertainment."

Both of the Cyclopes got up. "Don't butt into our fight if you know what's good for you little girl."

"Little girl?" Akuha looked irritated. She was aware of how simple-minded a Cyclops was. "I'm 22 years old! Besides…" She dropped her stance and pulled out a small handbook from her back pocket. "I can allow fights," she said as she opened the book and looked at it, "but just as long as they don't destroy school property." She glanced over at the art building. The whole west side of it was in ruins.

"Who do you think you are?" Both Cyclopes charged at her.

Akuha brought her arms up again, this time her hands were straightened out and pointed to the ground. "I'm the… uh…" She tried to think of an alternate name for 'Security Guard' that sounded cooler. She couldn't come up with anything. "I'm Akuha Shuzen, and I'm gonna kick your ass!" The people around her laughed at how stale that sounded. Akuha's face flushed in embarrassment.

One of the Cyclopes tried to crush her. "Take th-"

Akuha leapt up and struck the Cyclopes against the chest. "Ssahng Pyung Soo!" (_Double Palm Strike_). Normally, the attack would have easily shattered his rib cage, but Akuha held back. The Headmaster had told her not to kill any students. She had to disable them with attacks that wouldn't do permanent damage. As the first Cyclopes fell, the other one also made a futile attempt at attacking her. She dodged so fast she practically vanished.

"What kind of yōkai are you?" The Cyclopes yelled.

Akuha leapt up again, soaring next to the Cyclops's neck. Rather than hitting him hard, Akuha flicked her finger against his large neck, hitting a major pressure point. The Cyclopes suddenly felt woozy and began to faint. The students below screamed and began to run as the Cyclopes fell backwards towards them. Only one student didn't run. He just stood there with a frightened look.

"Look out kid!" Akuha sped towards the freshman boy and grabbed him, pushing him away as the Cyclopes landed where he had stood. "Are you blind or something?" Akuha shouted as she let go of the boy. The boy seemed to look straight through her. Either he was in shock or maybe he really was blind. Akuha looked back at the two unconscious Cyclops's. "Weaklings."

The spectators let out a fascinated cheer as they all gathered around Akuha. They started to blabber complements about how incredible the fight was. She covered her ears though, as she didn't enjoy all the noise. The students were so impressed, yet she was hardly even _trying_ to fight.

"Move aside." Akuha said as she gently pushed through the crowd. With her naturally threatening look, she began to walk off. The students all looked on. It was like watching a hero march into the sunset at the end of a movie.

"So her name is Akuha?" a student asked

"Scary…" another student said.

"I almost wet myself."

"But she's pretty!"

"Attractive!"

"Cool!"

The boy that Akuha had saved stood in the middle of the crowd, gazing in the direction that Akuha left in, but not directly at her. "She's… attractive?" he said shyly, "I wish I could see what she looked like."

XXX

**Formal Student Police Headquarters**

A strong, vicious looking young man sat on his black leather chair. He had long dirty blond hair, long pointy ears, and strands of hair above where his eyebrows should have been. In place of a school uniform, he wore black apparel with white outlines. He and three other members of the formal Student Police Force watched a number of video recordings, each of Akuha easily taking down dozens of different yōkai.

"Kuyou," said a female Student Police member, "its pretty obvious what race she belongs to."

Kuyou looked over at the girl, Keito. The girl had long purple hair and often sported a toothed smile. She was a Jorougumo, a Spiderwoman. "The new school's security guard is a vampire," Kuyou said, "just like Moka. The two of them are even sisters."

"Sisters?" Keito said shocked. She looked back at the image of Akuha on the screen. "Vampires are powerful, and this one really looks like she knows how to fight." The image of Akuha looked over at the camera. It felt as if she were staring fiercely into the eyes of the Student Police Force members that were watching the video.

"I can see she's been trained in many different Chinese Martial arts," Kuyou said, "I also see a little bit of Thailand's Muay Thai style." He made an angered face. "No, this one is _far_ better trained in fighting than Moka is."

Keito looked disappointed. "So we keep our distance?"

"No," Kuyou said, "vampires may be strong, but they also have many weaknesses."

"You're planning to use water, right?"

Kuyou shook his head. "Not just that." He smiled. "There are two kinds of weaknesses an opponent may have. One is natural weakness, the other is personal weakness." He stood up and stared straight at the video screen. "No one replaces the Student Police Force. This girl's presence may delay us, but never prevent."

XXX

**Ruby and Akuha's Dormitory**

Akuha and Ruby both sat on their own beds, each dressed in sleepwear. It was 11:00 PM now, and it was pitch black out. All that lit the room was a small lamp on Ruby's desk. It had been three days since Akuha started her job here at the academy. Despite being such a successful killer before, she quite surprised herself with how well she was doing. She had caught countless students in the act of mischievous activities. More importantly, she had never killed a student, although she hurt a lot of them. It made sense though, as it was fighting that she enjoyed, not killing. Her strength certainly drew a lot of attention, as lots of guys would try flirting with her. Kurumu had told her she would have to get used to it. The same thing happened with her and the other girls all the time. They were in a high school after all.

"It's strange," Akuha said, "I expected the headmaster to give me some menial tasks or something. You know, to show whose boss around here." She looked over at the handbook that lay on the desk near the window. "All he did was give me that stupid handbook. Besides that, he's completely cut me loose."

Ruby closed and set down the spell book she was reading. "Yeah, he seems to be letting you have your own way with things. I think its cause you don't need any kind of discipline."

"I'm a shady figure in a school." Akuha rested her chin onto her hand. "Who in the right mind _wouldn't_ consider precautions?"

"Well you've clearly been doing a great job, Akuha." Ruby said, quietly applauding her, "I don't know how the headmaster always knows this stuff, but he probably figured you would do a good job as you were."

Akuha head sank. She had been carrying out tasks for the highest bidder nearly her entire life. It was a given that she could perform this job competently. "I guess I shouldn't expect any less of Mikogami," she said dully, "he is one of the 'Great Dark Rulers' after all."

"You don't sound like you're in a good mood today."

Akuha dropped her head to her pillow, putting her back flat against her bed. "Sorry, I just feel a bit impatient right now."

"I don't see what could possibly be troubling you." Ruby got up and turned the lap on her desk off. "You were in a cheery mood just earlier."

"Yeah, I've been doing quite well for myself, and I've been shown a lot of respect." Akuha folded her arms back and rested her hands on the pillow below her head. "Why then do I feel so bothered?"

"Is it something to do with Moka and Tsukune?"

Akuha rolled onto her side. In all honesty, she didn't care a whole lot for sealed Moka, and instead wanted to protect her _true_ personality. It was Tsukune that couldn't help thinking about. She hoped by staying at this school she could be closer to him, but she almost never got a chance to see him. "Tsuk…" Akuha said in frustration, "Everyday so far he's either in class or I'm too busy. Dropping by the newspaper clubroom is the height of what I can do, and every time a fight breaks out nearby or I'm called away."

Ruby sat back on her own bed and pulled the sheets over her. "If it makes you feel any better, all students have the day off, both tomorrow and the next day. Why don't you try some activity with him?"

"Like what?"

Ruby thought for a moment, and shrugged. "Try asking the others. I don't know. I'm too busy to think about this stuff."

Akuha pulled a sheet over herself and closed her eyes. "Hmm… which one of Tsuk's friends has expertise in this regard?"

XXX

**The Next Morning – Boy's Dormitories**

Two freshmen boys were brushing their teeth and getting dressed in their room. One of them had a much harder time finding his toothbrush than the other. It was the same blind freshman boy that Akuha saved three days ago. He wore the standard green school uniform and had wild black hair. His eyes were slightly open, but his pupils were white and he could not see.

"Kazu," said the other boy that could see, "the bathroom is the other way."

Kuzu Kōetsuji felt around with the cane in his right hand, keeping himself from bumping into anything. "Sorry, Tadashi," Kuzu said, "just thinking about something."

Tadashi, the blind student's roommate, frequently helped him get around. They had only met on the first day of school, yet they got along just fine. "Still thinking about that girl? The one that saved you from getting squished?"

Kuzu came to a complete stop in front of bathroom sink. "Tell me Tadashi, what does she look like? Can you describe her to me?"

"Well…" Tadashi buttoned his pants and tried to recall every detail of Akuha's appearance. "She's got really light skin, a really slender and healthy figure, dark black hair kept up in two pigtails…"

"What's the color of her eye's?"

"They're red, and the pupils kind of resemble snake eyes." Tadashi finished fastening his clothes up. "She's looks scary, and yet, very pretty. I can't really explain it. You would have to see her yourself to understand."

Kuzu turned around. "See her myself?" he whispered gloomily.

Tadashi however didn't hear him. "This is like, all you've been talking about for the last three days, man. If you're so interested in her just go talk to her."

"Talk to her? That's a good one." Kuzu faced the bathroom sink and felt around for his toothbrush. "As if a big-shot like her would even notice a frail blind kid."

XXX

**Newspaper Clubroom**

"Kurumu?" Akuha said as she entered the door.

Only Kurumu and Mizore were in the room, both reading pieces of paper. "Yeah Akuha?" Kurumu put her papers down. "You need something?"

Akuha walked in and sat across from Kurumu. "I need a bit of advice I guess…"

"Advice?" Kurumu said, "Is this about the boys following you around?" It was pretty obvious that Akuha had poor social knowledge.

"No, it's just… well…" Akuha rested her hand on her forehead, "how do I say it?" She took a deep breath. "I hardly ever get to see Tsuk."

Mizore looked up at her. "If you want to see him more, I can give you stalking lessons."

"That's not what I meant!" Akuha shouted, "What I mean is, I've done something pretty bad to Tsuk not long ago. He's already forgiven me for it, but I still…" She couldn't quite spit it out. Perhaps she was having an 'off day' today.

"You still feel guilty about it?" Kurumu said.

"Yes," Akuha said with her finger pointed, "that's exactly what I'm trying to say. I want to make it up to Tsuk, but I can't think of how to do that."

Kurumu and Mizore stared at her for a moment. "Don't worry, I completely understand," Kurumu said with a grin, "I know just what will appeal to him."

"You better not try fooling me to do anything embarrassing. I don't have much social experience, but I'm not stupid either."

Kurumu shook her head. "Don't worry, don't worry. I wasn't thinking of anything like that." She put on a mischievous child's face. "There are two major things that appeal to _every_ guy." She put her index finger up. "One is a good body." She put a second finger up. "The other is food. Men _love_ tasty food."

Akuha stared at her blandly. "You want me to make him lunch?"

"I never said you had to make it yourself, but that wouldn't be a bad idea." Kurumu clapped her hands together. "Guys and gals have dinner-dates all the time, and girls make food for their men. Just be creative."

Akuha still held a serious look. "You're not trying to trick me right?"

"Now, why would I do that?" Kurumu said snickering.

"Because you declared me a rival for Tsuk's attention. Why would you be so quick to help me?"

"Still careful around me?" Kurumu's smile faded. "Akuha… you ever heard the old saying… 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend?'"

"Kurumu, one day you're going to find that it cuts both-"

"Moka has the edge against us," Mizore interrupted her, "we need to band together if we're to beat her."

"Beat her?" Akuha's fingers tightened up. "We're talking about my sister here. I'm not bringing myself to your level."

"Vampire pride?" asked Mizore.

"It's not cause I'm a vampire, it's cause I'm _not_ a high-school girl." Akuha got up and began to leave.

"Good luck with… whatever you're going to try!" Kurumu shouted as she waved goodbye frantically.

"Men love tasty food?" Akuha mumbled to herself, "Hmm… it's a start. I'll give it a try." She walked out the door and into the shining sun. "I hope I don't embarrass myself."

XXX

To be continued in… oh forget it. It's not like I haven't said it 19 other times.

* * *

**Modern Warfare 2 joke!**

**Needless to say, none of the formal Student Police Force members are OCs. Kuyou and Keito are both in the anime and manga.**

**Kokoa's pop quiz was based off a real one I had in my high school's history class. Someone really did answer 'kill pigs' on the corresponding question.**

* * *

Awesomeness said: "please don't make kuzu Akuha's new love interest"

The guy is a frail and blind freshman, not a Gary Stu, and so it would be out of character if Akuha liked him in return anyways. Besides, Akuha is a pretty girl hanging around a high school, so it's sort of a given that she would be popular with the guys.

Quote from chapter 12: "People will always dislike whatever OC I create, regardless of who they are or what they do. They'll just be seen as an outsider."

Readers commonly hate OCs, though I can understand why. There's so many Gary Stu fictions out there, and so when a new OC is introduced as a major character, what reason would you have to believe that he's any different from the thousands of other Gary Stus you've seen in the past? This problem is the fault of the Gary Stu writers though, and not the people that have read their stories.

This exact issue is one of the main reasons why I hesitated in making 'season two' and introducing Talia. Would Talia be called out as a Mary Sue even while she's not a flat character? She is good-looking after all, and that's usually all someone would go by to make such an accusation.

Thanks for the concern though, Awesomeness. You're uh… awesome? You're cool, lets roll with that.


	21. Chpt 21: Envy

**Blame me, scorn me, maim me, for this chapter has but taken the crown for "most time procrastinated on". But seriously, the none-edited version seriously didn't look very good and I've been busy with college.**

**Need a new Beta Reader now, **_**private message**_** me if you would like to volunteer please.**

* * *

**Yōkai Academy – School Rooftop**

Akuha and Tsukune stood alone on the rooftop, just over a large courtyard below. Akuha was leaning backwards against the railing. Tsukune stood across from her, staring in disbelief after what he just heard from her.

"A picnic?" Tsukune asked.

"That's right," Akuha said, "I'm inviting you to one."

Tsukune didn't look convinced. "What's this really about, Akuha?"

"It's exactly as it seems, Tsuk." The wind picked up and pushed one of Akuha's pigtails to the side. "No lies; no deceit. It's just a picnic."

"Yeah but…" Tsukune scratched his head. "Asking me to go on a picnic doesn't really seem like you…"

Akuha grinned and her faced flushed. She was trying to follow advice from someone that clearly knew more about talking to boys. It was not only Kurumu's advice that she took to heart, but a bit of Talia's as well.

"_You are a vampire, a killer, an assassin_," Talia had told her, "_but don't forget that you're still a woman. Try to act more feminine_."

It felt weird taking advice from someone she considered a mortal enemy, but she wouldn't have deemed Talia a threat if she didn't think she was also smart. She acted _very_ feminine, a quality that Akuha completely lacked.

"_You should at least give it a try_." Talia once said.

"Just thought I should give it a try." Akuha said to Tsukune. "A try at acting 'normal', I mean."

"That's great, Akuha." Tsukune no longer seemed confused, and held a pleased look. "It's nice to see you're trying to be more social."

"Haven't I always been social with you?"

"Yeah, but _only_ with me and the others." Tsukune walked over to the railings next to her and looked out into the courtyard. "I've heard that you've avoided just about everyone else at this school. It got me a little worried that you would be lonely."

"I guess I can't help that I'm anti-social." Akuha chuckled.

"Can't help?" Tsukune looked curiously at her. "But isn't that what you're trying to do by having this picnic? To adjust to the quieter kind of life here."

"Huh? So I can fit in better?" Akuha had to admit she was still unfamiliar to the civilian life. Even when living in the Shuzen Household, she regularly had to stay on edge. "Yeah… it's to… loosen up I guess." She sighed. "Right…"

"Alrighty then," Tsukune clicked one of his fingers, "anything for a friend."

Akuha moved away from the railing and stood up straight. "It'll be just the two of us. Meet me in the courtyard below us at eleven in the morning tomorrow, okay?"

"Just the two of us?" Tsukune said, completely oblivious, "But wouldn't it help if we brought more-"

"We can start small, Tsuk." Akuha groaned, "_Please_ can we just start small?"

Tsukune shrugged. "Fine, I'll tell the others not to come."

"No!" Akuha said with her hand outstretched. "I mean…" She pulled her hand back. "I think it's best that we keep it between ourselves."

"Why?"

Akuha knew the other girls would interfere if they knew, whether they were invited or not. "Because I…" Akuha paused to think of what to say next. She figured she couldn't just wing it and make it up as she went. At least she was learning.

"If you can't cook enough food for all of us, we could have Kurumu-"

"Just the two of us!" Akuha yelled.

Tsukune took a step back in fright. "Okay, okay! You don't need to get so worked up over it."

Akuha frowned timidly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shout at you."

Tsukune smiled and dismissed the outburst. He knew Akuha had a temper, but it didn't mean she was a bad person. "It's all good, you said you were sorry." He turned and walked towards the door that led back into the building. "So, tomorrow morning at eleven?" He said looking back at her. He walked in through the door.

Akuha smiled back. "Yup, I'll see you then." As Tsukune closed the door behind him, Akuha back-flipped and landed perfectly onto the railing. She slowly tipped over and fell off the side of the building, kicking off the wall halfway down and hitting the ground quietly and softly. She stood up and walked away.

"Did you _see_ that?" Said a nearby student.

XXX

"Tsuk, Moka, Kokoa, Kurumu, Yukari…" Akuha wondered how they've been spending their time each day. Ever since coming here, all Akuha had been doing was beating up pranksters and delinquents. She had been staying here for four days, and yet she scarcely saw any of them. She had only seen Kokoa _once_ and never came across her again. There however was one exception.

"Honestly…" Akuha said as she stopped next to a bush, "you need to find yourself a new hobby." She turned and looked at the bush. "I know you're there Mizore."

Mizore's head plopped out from the top of the bush. "Vampire senses sure are sharp." She brushed the leaves aside and walked out into the open. "But how'd you know it was me?"

"How did I know?" Akuha grumbled, "Are you serious? _How_ did I _know_?" She hung over with a groan. "Why is it that you're always spying on people? Behind a bush, in a garbage can, in the ventilation system…" She looked like she was about to explode. "_Seriously_! I find you doing this _every single day_!"

"Why should it bother you? I've always stalked Tsukune like this."

"Because Mikogami… I mean the headmaster…" Akuha paused. She was not to inform the students of Fairy Tale, nor of the possibility that they could infiltrate the school. They could be hiding anywhere at anytime, hence why Akuha was told to investigate any suspicious figures or activities, no matter what the circumstance.

"The headmaster…" Mizore tilted her head, "what?"

Akuha pulled out the handbook. "It says in here that I have to investigate any signs of suspicious surveillance." She was making the rule up as a cover-up.

"It's not allowed?"

Akuha decided not to impose anything she made up. Mizore had been getting away with stalking for a very long time anyways. "It's allowed, but just as long as it's harmless. Like I said, I still have to make sure that it _is_ harmless, but it just turns out to be you stalking Tsukune every time."

Mizore stood like a statue. Only her lollipop bobbed up and down. "So what would you have me do? Stalk Tsukune in the open?"

Akuha snickered. "That would work actually. Or better yet, how about you give up stalking him and just _talk_ to him face-to-face? He already considers you to be a friend."

Mizore finally made a hint of emotion. "Well what do I say to him?" she said shyly.

"Well… I don't know." Akuha shrugged. It seemed they had the same problem. Both of them had poor social skills. "All I can say is to try anything until something works."

"And if I screw up?"

"If you screw up, you screw up. It's how we learn." Akuha made a hand motion over her own shoulder, signaling to Mizore that she still had a few leaves on her. "I don't know what possible blunder you could make that's weirder than what you're already doing."

Mizore buried her hands into her sweatshirt's frontal pockets. "Makes sense…"

Akuha stared at Mizore for a moment. "While we're on the subject, why do you stalk him in the first place?"

"Because I love him. He's the only one that understands me."

"But do you believe he'll return those feelings?"

Mizore's shy face turned to a sad one.

"You know that he only sees you as a friend, why then are you still trying so hard to get his attention?"

"I told you before, my race is slowly dieing out, and I won't be fertile for very-"

"And I _asked_ you before," Akuha interrupted her, "why can it only be Tsukune? You didn't answer me last time."

Mizore didn't say anything back. It was no different from when the two of them exchanged words for the first time.

"If having a baby is so important, why can't you just find another guy?" Akuha asked, "I've seen plenty of boys fawning over you. Trying to win Tsukune over despite this is contradictory to-"

"I just love him, okay!" Mizore yelled with her arms out. She no longer seemed stoic, and instead looked angry. "I'll say it one last time, I love Tsukune, and that's why I still follow him wherever he goes." She calmed down and put her hands back in her frontal pockets. "No matter whom he's chosen, I'll _always_ follow him." She said calmly.

Akuha's expression darkened. "Even if that means you'll never have a child?"

Mizore hesitated. "If it comes to that, yes."

Akuha suddenly made a friendly smile. "Well…" She patted Mizore on the shoulder. "That certainly takes commitment," Akuha said kindly, "there's no question that you truly love him." She decided to leave it at that and began to walk away.

"Huh?" Mizore felt confused. She had been left on a very mixed note. As Akuha disappeared around the hedge, Mizore stared back at the bush she had hid in earlier. "Hmm… talk to Tsukune face-to-face? Try anything until something works?" She looked from the bush to the sky above. "Very well, no more stalking… for now. I'll try being more open with Tsukune."

Akuha walked along the side of one of the many school buildings. She brought her hands up and stared at her palms. "They were shaking the whole time," she said to herself, "it seems we have a lot in-common, Mizore."

"_You know that he only sees you as a friend, why then are you still trying so hard to get his attention_?"

Those were Akuha's own words. In reality, they were the very words she had been asking _herself_. She didn't know how to answer them, and so she wanted to see what the other girls would say. "Plenty of boys have been fawning over me as well," Akuha muttered, "yet I planned a picnic with Tsuk despite this?" She chuckled at her own contradiction. "I am such a hypocrite…"

XXX

**The Next Morning**

Akuha stood alone in the cooking classroom. It was Sunday, and so the room was completely deprived of any students. While humming a song merrily, she took a small piece of beef from one of the many pans on the stove and tasted it. "Mmm," Akuha smiled to herself, "not bad, not bad." In front of her were three pans, one pot, and one steamer. She was simultaneously cooking rice, beef, shrimp, noodles, and shumai all at once. With the speed and reflexes of a vampire, it wasn't difficult to prepare them all at once. Any vampire could as long as he or she didn't suck at cooking.

"You seem to be in a very good mood today." Ruby said as she walked in.

Akuha's cheerful look instantly faded. "Huh! Ruby?" she said in alarm, "Wha… what are you doing here?"

"I heard you were borrowing this classroom for private use, and I just _had_ to see it for myself." Ruby took a moment breathe in the smell of what was cooking. "Wow," she said with her hands clasped, "That smells delicious! I had no idea you were such a good cook."

"I've cooked quite a few times before. I used to do a lot of traveling on my own." Akuha blushed in embarrassment. "You're not going to run off and tell anyone right?"

Ruby smirked. "My lips are sealed. I won't let anyone know that you're really a softy."

"A softy?" Akuha placed her attention back on what she was cooking. "Guess I am…" she said sarcastically.

"Apparently so." Ruby walked right next to Akuha and looked down at the stove. "You should take over as the new cooking teacher!" she said gladly, "It would take quite a load off my shoulders. I've had to sub for this class so many times now."

Akuha shook her head. "Sorry, but this is just for once." She stirred the beef around to keep them from burning. "Besides, these are the _only_ recipes I know how to prepare. I can cook them well because I've made them so many times."

Ruby looked closely at the food. "You're making quite a lot there." She turned her head towards Akuha. "It looks like there's just enough for two."

Akuha knew what Ruby was trying to imply, but tried to ignore her. Before long, Akuha finished cooking the food and packed it away in a picnic basket. She quickly left the room by leaping out the window and onto the rooftops, intending to let no one else see her.

Ruby hugged herself and blushed. "Oh, it's such a joy to be in love."

XXX

Akuha found Tsukune exactly where they planned on meeting. Right away, the two of them left school grounds and began to walk out into the forest. After about twenty minutes of walking, they found a large grassy opening.

"Woa," Tsukune pointed at the small grassy plain, "I never knew this was here."

"I sometimes roam around and explore outside campus." Akuha said as they stopped in the middle of the grass. She knelt and set a long white blanket down. "It's a fun pastime, and I don't have much to do while you and the others are in class." What she said was partially true. She had also been encouraged by the headmaster to watch for anyone hiding out in the forest.

"It's too bad the grass doesn't expand beyond this place. It would be nice if the school grounds seemed more alive." Tsukune looked up at the sky. "It sure is a nice day out. The sun is shining and there isn't a cloud in sight."

Akuha set down the basket on the side of the blanket. "Just like the day we first met." The both of them sat down on the blanket, side-by-side.

"Heh, the way we're sitting here, we kind of look like a couple."

"Who said we had to pretend?" Akuha said mischievously as she opened the basket. She brought out a few plastic containers. "Here, I cooked all of it myself."

"Wow, that's…" Tsukune's cheerful smile slowly faded. "You cooked all of this… yourself?" He remembered how bad of a cook Moka was.

"Yeah, is something the matter?" Akuha asked curiously.

Tsukune suddenly didn't feel very hungry anymore. "Well…"

"Here." Akuha held a piece of beef with chopsticks towards him. "Say 'ah'."

Tsukune placed a hand up, making a 'no' motion. "I had a filling breakfast."

Akuha held the beef closer. "'Ahhhhh'…" she repeated.

Tsukune stood up. "Sorry, I'm not sure if I'm really-"

Akuha grappled Tsukune's ankles with her legs, tripping him over and holding him with a submission lock. Akuha had put a lot of effort into preparing this lunch, and wasn't about to let Tsukune pass it up. "Ahhhhhhhhh!" She said angrily, holding the beef in front of Tsukune's mouth.

Figuring that Akuha wasn't giving in, Tsukune opened his mouth. He ate the piece of beef, and it tasted surprisingly good. "Woa…" Tsukune said with his eyes lit up.

Akuha's harsh expression changed to a pleasant one. "Now was that so hard?"

Tsukune laughed a little. "Sorry, you see…" He hesitated. "You didn't hear this from me, but Moka is not a good cook."

"You were afraid I'd be the same?" Akuha chuckled. "I remember as if it were yesterday, when Moka tried to make a batch of cookies."

"How'd they taste?" Tsukune said as he helped himself to some rice and shumai.

"The image of gym socks came to mind," Akuha said with a grin, "or was it leathery burnt bacon?" They laughed a little bit. "Yeah," Akuha said, "that's always been her shortcoming."

"Her _only_ shortcoming." Tsukune corrected. "I don't mind it really." He scratched the back of his head. "We shouldn't be laughing, but I guess it can't be helped." He took a good long look at Akuha. "I never really noticed it before, but I think Moka is a bit taller than you."

"Vampires stop aging at a certain point, Tsuk." Akuha swallowed a bit of noodles. "It came a bit early for me. It usually happens around the late-teens for female vampires."

Tsukune nodded. "Well it's just, I know you're the older sister but…"

Akuha's eyes flicked his direction. "I don't look it?" She was sure they had discussed this before.

"It's not that, I just never see Inner Moka laugh or smile. Like the way you are now."

"So that makes her more mature than me?" Akuha lay down on her elbow with her hand on her cheek. "I don't know if you've seen it yet, but Moka most certainly has a soft side to her as well. She just puts a lot more work into hiding it."

"Why?"

Akuha smirked. "Isn't it obvious? Pride, and lots of it. Me, I don't really care about that sort of thing."

"But vampires are a very prideful race." Tsukune cocked an eyebrow. "I'm curious, what made you so different?"

Akuha shrugged. "Vampires aren't just prideful, we're also individualistic. I've learned to take pride in myself and live by my own standards." She chewed on a mouthful of food and gulped it down. "I guess what sets me apart from Moka is experience."

"Experience? I'm guessing something bad happened years ago."

"Sort of…" Akuha took another bite of food. She started to doze off. "I hate gorillas…" she mumbled.

"Excuse me?" Tsukune wasn't sure he heard that right.

"Never mind that last bit." Akuha pointed a chopstick in Tsukune's direction. "Think of it like this Tsuk," she said with her mouth half full, "Moka's constantly been faced with opponents far weaker than her, while I've been faced with opponents that are just as tough as me." She swallowed again. "Being strong is not what makes us prideful, it's being _stronger_ than everyone else."

"So it's because of they way you've grown as a fighter?"

"That's right. We're shaped by our experiences; it's what makes us who we are." Akuha lobbed a piece of beef up in the air with her chopstick and caught it with her mouth. "Pretty much all vampires grow up being faced with lower beings. Goblins, lizardmen, and other weak beings are as common as blades of grass. Vampires are at the top of the food chain, and so they can _afford_ to be prideful." Akuha sat up with her legs in a criss-crossed position. "It's been this way for centuries, and so it's practically hardwired to us."

"So let me guess," Tsukune said as he ate a bit of beef, "when you were younger, you met someone strong, strong like a vampire."

"_Way stronger_ than most vampires."

Tsukune made a nervous, sarcastic nod. "Yikes, that must have been scary."

"It _was_…" Akuha nodded. "Despite how powerful I am, I'll be the one to admit that there are others out there capable of beating me, easily in fact. There's few of them, but they most certainly exist." She brought her palm up and looked down at it. "Dumb armored ape somehow knew black arts, and was strong as hell, but he taught me an important lesson that day." She grasped her hand into a fist. "Those held back by pride die off and are forgotten, those willing to do anything to win live on and write history."

Tsukune frowned. "Akuha, that's…"

"That's how he worded it to me anyways." Akuha put a hand over the back of her head and laughed. "I'm sorry, I've been doing all the talking."

"It's okay, I don't usually like to think about fighting. I haven't much to say about it."

XXX

Time flew by as they continued eating their lunch. A calm, cool breeze moved over the grass, below the orange blazing sun and blue sky. While the day was working in her favor, Akuha didn't like where their conversation had gone. She wanted to end their picnic on a much lighter note. Maybe she could try talking about something less serious?

"Tsuk," Akuha said, breaking the silence, "do you think my… temper is a little…"

"Not at all Akuha," Tsukune said kindly, "you don't get angry if you're not given a reason to." He finished off his rice. "If you're thinking about your frequent outbursts at Ginei, you should know that the other girls get angry at him too, probably even _more_ often."

Akuha snickered. "I'll bet." She noted how Tsukune had much more to say about social topics. "So, how are you enjoying the picnic?"

"It's great." Tsukune lay on his back and looked up at the sky again. "You know, eating outside like this is just the best. It's a real treat to do this once in a while. Enjoying delicious food while taking in the beautiful day. It's moments like this that help me truly feel the pleasures of living."

Akuha smiled and nodded. "Well said." Her smile faded when she reflected on the phrase 'pleasures of living'. She sighed.

"Akuha?" Tsukune said curiously.

Akuha had never really thought about it until now, about how many people had she killed in the past. How many moments like this would they never feel now that they're gone? "How many picnics will never happen because I…" She sighed in frustration at her own melodrama. She had never felt sensitive about it until only recently.

Tsukune sat up and put his hand on her shoulder. He had an idea of what she was talking about. "Everyone's makes mistakes Akuha, they never go away, but it's how we learn right?" Tsukune extended his other arm out towards the blanket they sat on. "That's what you're trying to do by having this picnic right? You're _adding_ one to the world; a fresh start."

Akuha's cheeks turned red. She took lives; that's always been her place. "But what you do… that's truly special," Akuha whispered, "You help others feel the pleasures of living." She leaned over and rested her cheek on Tsukune's shoulder.

"Uh, Akuha?" Tsukune said puzzled, "What are you doing?"

XXX

**Later That Day – Former Dungeon Building**

It was evening time, and the sun had already set. Three treacherous looking thugs had snuck onto the campus, using the school grounds as a hiding place to escape from their pursuers. The building they took residence in had been abandoned for decades. Originally, it was a dungeon used to contain violent students, seldom guilty of murder. The building wasn't used anymore, and so it was the perfect place to hide in.

A minotaur, a tsuchigumo, and a doppelganger sat around the former prison cell, eating stolen food for their dinner. Tomorrow morning they would take a look around, and maybe even kill a few students for a thrill.

"Enjoying your meals?" said a voice down the hall.

The three thugs sprang up and moved into the hall, finding a number of student police force members looking at them. "Looks like we traded one group of pursuers for another." Said the doppelganger.

The one likely to be their leader motioned the others to stay put. "On the contrary, we're not here to fight." He began to walk forward. "My name is Kuyou, and I've had my eye on the three of you since you arrived on school grounds."

The doppelganger frowned repulsively. "So the school already knows we're here?"

Kuyou shook his head. "Normally you would already have been detected by now, but I've pulled some strings in your favor."

The doppelganger looked intrigued. "What do you hope to gain by helping a group of serial killers?" He motioned his two thugs to stand down. "Sounds to me like you want to make some sort of deal."

"I do, doppelganger." Kuyou smiled. "You see, I can use a man of your abilities." He put his hands behind his back and began to slowly pace from side to side. "About a year ago, I and the student police force practically ruled this school with an iron fist. We bullied the student body of its money, imposed our vision of law on the school, and no one would dare cross us." He stopped in the middle of the hall. "But all that changed when a small group of students rebelled."

The doppelganger could pretty well guess how the story ended. "They took you out of business?"

"It pains me to say it, but yes." Kuyou looked pissed. "Three of them happen to be quite powerful."

"Alright, I think I know where you're going with this." The doppelganger let out a long puff of smoke with his cigarette. "But what makes you think I'll help you if you just ask? A place to hide isn't a good enough payment on its own."

"This entire school was once bent to my will. Once it's under my heel again, the _real_ question is…" Kuyou spread his arms out. "What do you want?"

XXX

To be continued in next chapter.

* * *

**Extra Scene**

MrDrProfessor4 sat with the face of his helmet flat on his desk, snoring quietly with his hands resting on a pile of papers. A deafening crash suddenly erupted from the desk, causing him to spring up.

"**Hey**!" A shady figure stood there with his fist on the desk. It was the NCR Ranger from the Fallout One-shot fic. "What the hell are you doing?" he said in a deep masculine voice, "You're MrDrProfessor… number 4! You can't slack off like this!"

"Sorry man, but I'm just not into writing right now. I think I need a short break."

The Ranger pointed his revolver against MrDrProfessor4's forehead. "No one's taking any breaks until you've finished season two."

MrDrProfessor4 groaned. "But we've got a _long_ way to go before it's done. If I had to guess, the events I planned out will go all the way to chapter 28 or 29. Even then, I got a _much_ longer 'season three' to worry about." He grasped his helmet, as if trying to pull his hair. "By the way things are looking, this story may be over at chapter 50!"

"Tough love kid, tough love." The Ranger cocked his gun. "Deal with it."

MrDrProfessor4 looked down the barrel of the gun nervously. "The thing is, I'm the 'take-my-time' kind of guy. If I can't do it right, I put it off until I'm in a better mood for it. Otherwise, I'll end up making a half-assed chapter." He rested his chin on his desk. "Maybe it's just me, but a few parts in _this_ chapter feel a little half-assed."

The Ranger pulled his revolver back. "You know kid, I've been wondering… How long does it take for you to finish a chapter?" He pulled out a couple of stapled papers and looked at them. "Looks like a few of your readers would like to know too." He read one of the more recent comments. "Said by Awesomeness:"

_A lot of people are getting impatient but they just need to wait I mean you have a life too_.

"True, I'm busy with college and I prefer not to release a chapter until it's fully cooked. Can't say I blame the readers for getting aggressive though."

The Ranger shook his head at the writer. "You should have kept in mind how lazy you can be before starting this fic." He looked down at his paper. "Legend96 said:"

_Just wondering, how often do you work on these chapters each day_?

MrDrProfessor4 tapped on his helmet, trying to get himself woken up. "It varies from time to time," he said, "like I said before, I procrastinate a lot as if constantly exposed to writers-block. How creative I can think just goes up and down depending on how good of a mood I'm in. Sometimes it's 3 to 4 days before I resume writing, but when I do, I spend between 3 to 5 hours on it. The total hours per each chapter have been all over the place."

"What's the longest it's taken you to write a chapter? What's the shortest?"

"Uh… Chapter 1 took 15 minutes, Chapter 13 took 5 hours within a single day, and I think Chapter 17 took at least a total of 40 hours over the course of nearly two weeks." MrDrProfessor4 leaned back on his chair. "I wish I could always _stay_ at the top of my game, then I could produce chapters far quicker, but I am in fact human."

The Ranger stared at him for a moment. "What an overly-descriptive answer…"

MrDrProfessor4 raised his index finger. "Hey I got it! Let's respond to a bit of mail from the readers! We've already gotten started."

"Whatever…" The Ranger handed over the piece of paper.

"Alrighty!" MrDrProfessor4 looked at the paper. "This first one is fairly old, submitted during season one." He began to privately read it to himself.

_I just can't take made up Monstors I can take made up breeds of real monsters but I can't take, it. I always explain how it works with a scientifit porspective, If I find it can't be done even by the exteant of the supernatural I can't take it and demand a reasonable expanation Or a story spinoff with more reason_.

MrDrProfessor4 just stared at the paper. "I… _think_ I understand what he's saying. Still, I already made a fair amount of explanations for the made-up monsters. Other users have told me that the explanation for Alistair's powers sounds like something out of a science textbook." He scratched the top of his helmet. "I _don't_ understand is where he's coming from though. How plausible does a make-believe fan-fiction that's based on a fantasy story have to be anyways?" He looked at the next question. "An unsigned review said…"

_Please don't mention the anime anymore_.

"To respond to that statement, references to the anime were made to make fun of it. I dislike it too, and like to take pot shots at it from time to time. Also, keep in mind that the tug-of-love also happens a lot in the manga. I just wanted to end chapter 12 with something readers would be familiar with." MrDrProfessor4 held a laugh. "At first, I thought opinions on the anime were split, but day after day I'm starting to see that disapproval for it is almost universal." He looked back at the paper. "Next message is an email from Cabbit32."

_what motivated you to write your fan fiction_?

MrDrProfessor4 made a terrified look at the paper. "Uh oh…"

The Ranger put his palm on the front of his helmet. "Hmp, here we go…"

"I hoped no one would ask me that, it's kind of embarrassing, but I feel inclined to explain now that this fic has gotten more attention." MrDrProfessor4 put the paper down. "I actually started writing this story because I lost a bet… you heard me. It was a private 4 vs 4 slayer game on Halo Reach, which my team lost 48 to 50. Because I commonly talked about stories and literature, my friend dared me to write a shipping fic between two characters that you could _never_ imagine together, probably cause of how challenging it would be. The bet was off after chapter 4, as the fic had to be a minimum of 10,000 words long. It came as a surprise to me when I found that people were really enjoying it, and so I continued on and took it more seriously."

Also said by Cabbit32: _its almost laughable how much better written these newer chapters are than your first two_.

"I did sort of goof off on the first 4 chapters…" MrDrProfessor4 said with a guilty look.

"For the love of god, take a breath!" Said the Ranger.

"I know, I know… I talk to much." MrDrProfessor4 muttered, "Anyways, with the exception of one _crazy troll_, I thank you all for taking the time to read and comment on this story, you guys are the best."

"And by all means, feel free to kick his ass back on track if he's slacking again." The Ranger turned and began to walk away. "When this slacker needs it, he _needs_ it."


	22. Chpt 22: Ishin Denshin

**Remember the Ishin Denshin? That device appeared in the manga.**

**Also in the manga, minor villains yelling cliché lines like 'I'll kill you, brat!' or 'Don't underestimate me!' seems to be common. Just keep that in mind…**

* * *

**Monday Morning – Yukari's Dormitory**

"I wonder if it'll work ~ I wonder if it'll work ~" Yukari sang to herself. On the top of her workbench laid piles of papers, rolls of tap, and a strange looking device. She folded and taped some papers into the shape of a small cone. "I wonder ~" She attached it to the device. "If it'll ~" She fastened it down. "Work!" She held the device up. "It's finally complete!" she cheered, "The Ishin Denshin!" She set her creation back on the workbench and marveled at it.

Ishin Denshin, when roughly translated, means 'From Heart to Heart'. Just as the name describes, it is a magical item that allows two people to relay their feelings without the use of words.

"With this, people can confess though just their feelings!" Yukari said, feeling as if she were melting in her own seat. "I can easily make Moka and Tsukune fall totally in love with each other." Her face turned as red as a cherry. "And when the two of them are together, I can join them in the same bed." She stuck her tongue out and began to pant like a dog. "I'll be on top of them, under them, between them… the possibilities are endless!" She fell off of her chair and landed on her back, staring up at the ceiling. "Ahh… so much time has passed, but finally my dream will come true…" She sprung up and grabbed the device. "Let's try it right now!"

Yukari left her room and hurried across campus, running to class as fast as her little legs could carry her. She had been up all night putting the Ishin Denshin together. The adrenaline created from her excitement was all that kept her on her feet.

"Moka! Tsukune!" Yukari yelled as she opened the door. She looked around; there was nobody here. "I'm a little early…" Yukari said as she looked over at the classroom's clock. "I guess no one's at school yet." She sat down on a desk, three rows from the front. "Ahh… I can't wait. I wonder how they'll change once they become a couple." She yawned. "I hope they get here soon." She rested her head onto the desk. "I feel like a lazy fanfiction writer… I'm gonna get some rest." After no time at all, she fell fast asleep.

XXX

**School Rooftops**

Akuha stood on the highest rooftop of the school, leaning over the railing watching the sunrise. She enjoyed being up in high places and she could keep a good eye on most of the campus from here. While the students were in class, Akuha often passed the time leaping around the rooftops. Occasionally, she would practice unarmed combat up here, if not out in the forest. She didn't have anyone challenging to fight here, so rehearsing different forms was all she could do to keep her skills sharp.

"Reminds me of Paris…" Akuha said as the sun rose in front of her, "Although, I was at the top of the Eiffel Tower when I watched the sun rise."

Akuha felt that she was getting used to the academy. The student body was familiar with her and she was highly respected, if not feared. Only once or twice, a student would make a rude remark at her. Normally she would just beat the crap out of anyone dumb enough to do that, but somehow she just didn't feel like it anymore. Even while on her own, it was a fairly easy job for a vampire. Moka could probably do just as good of a job, that is, if her rosary was removed. Most of the students here weren't even A-Ranked monsters.

Feeling content with the sunrise, Akuha decided to move along the rooftops again. It wasn't much different from what she normally did on weekdays. Wake up early, hop around and watch for troublemakers, find Mizore hiding in the bushes. It became pretty systematic by now. As Akuha landed along another rooftop, she looked through one of the classroom windows across from her. "There's someone in there," she whispered, "and it's quite early for class. Maybe something's up?"

XXX

Deciding she had nothing better to do so early in the morning, Akuha walked into the classroom. "Oh, it's just Yukari." she said, "Youngster sure is dedicated to her grades…"

Yukari had fallen asleep on her desk, probably while waiting for class to start. There weren't any open textbooks on her desk though, so she may have come early for some other reason.

Akuha walked up to Yukari's desk. "What could this be?" Akuha said, eying the strange device on the desk. Out of curiosity, she lightly touched the dial on it. "No, no, no. I shouldn't mess around with it." she said to herself, "Knowing Yukari, it probably vaporizes a person's clothes off."

Yukari made a lengthy yawn. "Huh? Who's there?" She cleared her eyes and looked up. "Akuha? What're you doing here?"

Akuha's eyes rolled to the side. "Nothing really." She pointed down at the device. "By the way, what's this supposed to be?"

"Oh?" Yukari placed her fingers around the device. "I call it the Ishin Denshin." She clicked it on, deciding to show it off rather than explain it. She already knew how Akuha thought of her anyways. "Watch, I'll even show you what it-" ZAAAAP! A blinding flash of light suddenly flooded the room.

The classroom door opened. "Good morning!" Tsukune said as he walked in.

"Anyone here yet?" Moka asked behind him.

A dizzy looking Yukari stood up from her desk and grasped her head. Next to her, what appeared to be Akuha was lying flat on the floor.

"Akuha! Yukari!" Tsukune shouted. He and Moka ran over to them. "You two alright? What just happened?"

"Ouch! What the hell did you do, Yukari?" Yukari yelled maliciously.

Akuha stood up, holding a shy expression. "The device shouldn't have done that." She looked down at the witch in front of her. "Akuha?"

The witch looked up at the vampire. "Yukari?" The two of them stared speechless at each other for a moment. "Uh…" As Moka and Tsukune watched puzzled, Yukari violently grabbed Akuha by the wrist and began to pull her along. "Excuse us for a moment!" Yukari slammed the door behind them.

"Uh…" Tsukune mumbled, "What was that about?"

"No clue." said Moka.

XXX

**Yukari's Dormitory**

The little witch pushed the vampire into the room and shut the door, locking it.

"A body swapper?" Akuha growled from Yukari's body, "You… made… a body swapper!" She ran up to Yukari, whom was stuck in Akuha's body. Among all of Tsukune's friends, Yukari was the _last_ one she would want to switch with. "What possessed you to make such a thing?"

Yukari stared down at herself. "I never realized I looked _that_ childish…"

"Stay focused!" Akuha grabbed her by the shirt and shook her.

"Oh, sorry." Yukari looked over at the Ishin Denshin that lay on her workbench. "It's not a body swapper, it's supposed to convey how people feel about each other."

Akuha let go of her. "Seems you've go a lot of bugs to fix, Ms. Mad-scientist."

Yukari walked over to the workbench and sat down. "I see…" She took a closer look at the device. "Apparently this happened because the dial was turned to 'maximum'. I didn't even bother to check."

Akuha's eyes widened. It appeared that she was also responsible for the pickle they were in. "I should have kept my hands to myself…" Akuha thought.

"Instead of 'conveying each other's feelings,' the output was so strong that it switched our minds…" Yukari picked up the device and looked into one of the cylinders, noticing the interior looked burnt.

"But how is that even possible?" Akuha said with her hands on her hips, "A vampire's demonic aura is supposed to make them immune to this kind of stuff, the same way we're unaffected by hypnosis and other mind spells."

"Ahh… I guess, but I build my inventions to get around that kind of stuff. Sealed or not, Moka is a vampire, and I wanted to use this between her and Tsukune."

Akuha adjusted the large witch hat on her head. She recalled seeing scores of mind-switching devices in the Chinese black market. While they worked fine between different low-class monsters and humans, not one of them would even remotely affect a vampire. Yukari didn't seem to realize how unbelievable her invention was. "I know of a crime lord that would pay through the _nose_ for this thing." Akuha said. She looked over at Yukari, feeling as if she were watching herself in third-person. "So… now that you know what happened, switching us back should be easy right?"

"Not really…" Yukari shook her head. "Because the output was so strong, it fried the circuits. I'll need to fix it first."

"How long is that going to take?"

"Maybe 30 minutes… give or take." Yukari looked down at the body she was in, and grinned. "Switching with an all-powerful vampire… this actually isn't so bad."

Akuha began to grind her teeth. "You're going to repair this device and switch us back ASAP, got it?" She yelled with her finger pointed.

Yukari folded her arms. "Why should _I_ be in such a rush? What're you going to do if I don't?"

Akuha pulled her finger back. With such a weak body, she was in no position to make demands. Yukari had been picked on a lot, and was often looked down on by the other girls. Why would she be in any hurry to return to that, so soon after being switched with such a naturally powerful yōkai? To add to that, she was probably starting to feel the effects of her body's natural instincts. Vampires were prideful, bold, and quick to retaliate if they felt that someone was challenging them. Such characteristics were hardwired to _every_ vampire to a certain degree. "Yukari, do you have any _idea_ how many mafias, gangs, and organizations want me dead?"

"Dead?"

Akuha smirked. "Well they want _you_ dead now. For the past ten years, the strongest monsters in the world have been coming for my head."

"But this body is strong enough to beat them."

Akuha shook her head. "I've encountered handfuls of monsters that have given _me_ a hard time, and I have a decade's worth of martial arts training in _six_ different forms. How are you going to tangle with them without any experience at all?"

Yukari shrugged. "Well I doubt any of them is showing up at this school any time soon."

Akuha sighed. She had to think of something to convince Yukari. "You need to take pride in yourself, Yukari." she said, "You can grow up to be admired and respected with your _own_ abilities…" She stared Yukari in the eye. "Can't you?"

"Well…" The vampire pride Yukari felt made her hesitate. Unlike Akuha, she was just getting used to the feeling, and wasn't able to override it. "I don't know…"

"You're _very_ a smart girl," Akuha looked over at the Ishin Denshin again, "and this _homemade_ device is living proof of that. I mean, it's just remarkable!"

"You really think so?" Yukari said with a weak smile.

"Of course, you're a genius!" Akuha said cheerfully, "And in the body you were _born with_, you're going to grow up to be as respected and beautiful as… uh… Moka is!"

Yukari's eyes lit up when Moka's name was brought up.

Akuha clapped her hands together. "In fact, you look very pretty _right now_!"

"A… Alright then!" Yukari yelled enthusiastically, "I'll get right to work!" She grabbed her tools on the workbench and began to disassemble the Ishin Denshin. "Just need to replace a few parts."

Akuha began to step backwards to the door. "Good luck with that!" she said, laughing merrily to herself, "I'll even attend your classes for you. I know how much you value your grades."

Yukari nodded. It was true that she didn't want to get an absence on her attendance record. "Oh, how thoughtful of you. That would be very nice."

"I'll be back soon." Akuha went out the door. The very second she shut it, her jolly smile instantly faded to a cold, serious look. "Sucker…"

XXX

**Courtyard**

"And here I thought _my_ bust was small." Akuha said, looking down at what was technically Yukari's chest. "Honestly, what about this body _is_ there to be proud of?" Akuha walked along the courtyard by herself. There was no one else around, as everyone was already in class. "The only noteworthy trait she's got is the ability to make those crazy inventions," she said, "and that's something past the flesh." She lifted her eyebrows in recognition. "Although I got to admit, her inventions _are_ truly incredible." She continued on towards Yukari's class. She would be ten minutes late, but school seemed like such a trivial matter to her.

"Disgusting…" said a voice behind her. "A witch is such a disgusting creature."

Akuha stopped and turned around, putting her battle-expression on. Three students began to approach her. One stood in front of her, and the other two moved to both sides, each keep a short distance from her. "What do you kids what from me?" Akuha demanded instinctively.

"Kids?" one of the students spat, "A twelve-year-old is calling _us_ kids?"

"Out with it!" Akuha yelled, "What do you want with me? I'm having a very bad day!"

"You're day is about to get far worse." said another student, apparently their ringleader. He looked over at his friends. "Okay guys, sure Kuyou said he wanted her dead, but that doesn't mean we can't kill her slowly."

"Kuyou?" Akuha thought that name sounded familiar. She could have sworn Tsukune mentioned it once.

Each of the three students started to grow lizard-like scales. "As of last year, we have no need for an immature brat in our class!" They each revealed their true form, morphing into lizardmen. "No one's coming to save you this time!"

Akuha stayed calm. Obviously the lizardmen were old enemies to Yukari. "Sticks and stones…" Akuha said sarcastically. She didn't feel anything for their insults. They technically weren't aimed at her anyways. "Transforming is against school rules." She said.

(_Just a heads up_:_ This is a very __**long**__ fight scene_._ Don't want to read it? Don't have to._)

"You dare lecture us?" yelled their leader, "We'll rip you to pieces, brat!" All three of them lunged at her at once.

Akuha immediately kicked right foot forward and punched to her left and right, striking all three lizardmen in the nose simultaneously. They each leapt back in surprise.

"What the hell?" one of them shouted.

Akuha spread her arms out for a Chinese Kenpō stance. In spite of her fearless expression, her small build and large witch hat made her look a bit silly.

"Brat thinks she knows Karate!" said one of the lizardmen.

"This isn't Karate!" Akuha shouted, "It's called Kenpō!"

The leader of the lizardmen lunged forward, swiping his claws at her. Akuha dodged again and again, _barley_ avoiding each hit. In Yukari's body, she couldn't keep track of the lizardman's claws. Instead, she watched his shoulder movements and anticipated the speed of each attack. It was a method she used whenever she fought a faster opponent.

"Brat!" The lizardman roared, "You've been taking lessons from someone haven't you?" He continued to attack her.

Akuha noted how bruised her hands got when she had punched the lizardmen. She had hit them in the nose too, a soft spot. Direct punches were not something she could rely on. She had to try something else.

"Take this!" The lizardman attempted kicking her.

Akuha caught the lizardman's leg and wrapped her arms around it, leaning forward to push him off balance. Akuha twisted her leg around the ankle of the lizardman's free leg, pushing it and causing him to fall over on his own weight. One of the other lizardmen charged her with one claw raised, this time coming from behind. Akuha quickly turned halfway and brought her right hand up, slamming her fist on top of the lizardman's hand to push it straight down. Next she rebound her hand straight up, bending her hand downward to make something like a knuckle with her wrist. With her bent wrist, she struck the lizardman below the jaw, knocking him over.

"Where'd she learn this stuff?" said the lizardman, stroking his chin where Akuha had hit him. The three of them surrounded the little witch again. "Let's stop toying with her, guys. Time to get serious."

Akuha grasped her bruised wrist. Her attack didn't seem to do much, and the recoil their scales gave was nasty. "Damn it…" Akuha murmured. She hated kids, and _especially_ hated switching bodies with one. Beating these lizardmen would have been child's play if she had switched with Kurumu or Mizore instead. She wondered what it would have been like to switch with Tsukune… "NO, no, no… bad thought. It burns…"

A lizardman pounced at her with his jaws open. Akuha immediately pulled off her witch hat and caught his mouth in it, using the hat as a muzzle. As she pushed the lizardman to the ground, Akuha jabbed him on the side of the neck, causing him to pass out. Two more to go…

Akuha suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of her right shoulder. "Argh!" One of the lizardmen had cut her from behind. She began to fall forward, but grounded her left palm and somersaulted away. She landed and grasped her shoulder in pain. "I didn't see that coming." she said. She could easily adjust to the different levels of strength, speed, and reach, but it was the new levels of fatigue, flexibility, and reflexes she had trouble getting used to. "This body is _so_ out of shape!" she thought, "It's _already_ out of breath!" Deciding she could no longer utilize agility, she switched her fighting style. She quickly stood up, bent her left knee up, and brought both fists at eye level.

"Look out," the lead lizardman said to his partner, "that weird Kung Fu stance isn't just for show."

"It's not Kung Fu!" Akuha yelled, "It's a Muay Thai kickboxing stance!" She knew she had to find some way to attack, and if punches wouldn't work, she would utilize elbow and knee strikes. A style with lots of raw power like Muay Thai was perfect for this situation.

The lead lizardman made a direct charge. "Don't you mess with me!" he yelled.

Akuha kicked her right foot up and landed her left foot down, roundhouse kicking the lizardman in the hip. With her opponent dazed, she immediately elbowed him across the face.

"Is that all you got!"

Akuha grabbed the back of the lizardman's neck with both hands. She pushed his neck towards her while she jumped off from the ground, both as hard as her body would let her. With a loud whack, Akuha smashed her knee into his neck, nearly breaking it. This was one of her most lethal hand-to-hand attacks. With her own body, this move always tore her opponent's head _clear off_ his shoulders.

The last lizardman watched as his ringleader fell to the ground. "No way!" he said in horror, "How… how could some little brat beat us?" He turned and ran away.

Akuha dropped her arms down and began panting. "I should head back to Yukari's dorm," she said, "if someone wants me… I mean her dealt with, I shouldn't be out in the open." She knelt down to catch her breath.

"Well, aren't you full of surprises?" Said a calm, deep voice.

Akuha turned to look who it was. A strong, vicious looking young man began to approach her. He had long dirty blond hair and a black outfit. "I assume you're Kuyou." Akuha said to the young man.

"Assume?" Kuyou said, "You talk as if we've never met."

Akuha spread her arms out for her usual fighting stance. "Why'd you have those lizards attack me?"

"Because I wanted to leave the weaker ones to the… _volunteers_." Kuyou brought his palm up, and formed a large fireball above it. "I intend to dispose of the entire newspaper club, but apparently, if I want results I need to do it myself."

Akuha eyed the fireball Kuyou was holding. "I'd recognize that fire pattern anywhere. He's a Youko." She had fought and easily beat three other Youko before, but this one would be _much_ different.

Kuyou brought his arm back, preparing to throw the fireball. "I can't have you telling the others what I've been up to."

Akuha looked all around her. Even if she weren't tired, she still wouldn't be able to escape. Even with her skill level of martial arts, she couldn't beat a Youko with Yukari's weak body. She didn't think she had ever felt so vulnerable.

"Die without the fuss will you?" Kuyou threw the large fireball at her.

Akuha tried to think of something. Even when fully rested, she wouldn't have the stamina to use the Jigen-Tou technique at all. Forget feeling vulnerable, she was _helpless_. Suddenly, she felt something grab her with blinding speed.

A huge explosion erupted where Akuha had stood. "What?" Kuyou said. The smoke cleared, and there was no one there. "Where'd she…" He turned his head.

Near the bushes to the right, Tsukune stood there with Akuha in his arms. His eyes bore similarity to a vampire's, before turning normal again. "Attacking a twelve-year-old girl while she's alone? That's low, even for you, Kuyou."

Akuha looked up at her savior. "Tsuk?"

Tsukune knew something was amiss when Yukari didn't return to class. Good thing he was curious enough to investigate. "Don't worry Yukari," He looked down at her and smiled, unaware he was speaking to Akuha. "I'll protect you, no matter what."

Akuha blushed.

Kuyou stepped forward. "Tsukune, we do battle once again." An eruption of blue fire enveloped around him, burning off his clothes and shrouding him with flames. He began to change, directly into his primary battle form. He became noticeably more muscular, elaborate tattoo-like markings spread across his upper-body, and his lower-body changed to a fox-like pair of bipedal legs. "You won't catch me off guard like you did last time!" A wicked smiled spread across his face.

Akuha made a nervous look. She had seen a Youko's battle form before. Not only did it look scary, it granted the user considerable strength, stamina, speed, and made the body incredibly sturdy. With such high levels of concentrated energy, their kind could even compete with vampires.

Tsukune gently put Akuha down. "Guess I can't talk my way out of this." He rolled up his right sleeve and grasped his holy lock. "Here goes nothing…" Suddenly, he felt a hand grab his other arm.

"Gotcha!" Said a filthy looking man. He wore a striped shirt, and a black-buttoned sweater vest. The cigarette in his mouth and his aged appearance showed that he obviously wasn't a student.

"Let me g-" Tsukune began to feel a little woozy.

The strange man's face suddenly changed… to look exactly like Tsukune's.

Tsukune felt normal again. "What the…" he stared at a duplicate of himself smoking a cigarette.

"Surprised huh?" Said the doppelganger, "This face looks just like yours, right?" He looked over at Akuha and slapped her across the face, knocking her down.

Tsukune's expression grew from angry to enraged.

"So," Kuyou yelled, "what kind of monster is he?" He remembered when Ishigami, the school's formal art teacher, had told him that Tsukune was human. It had to be a lie; Tsukune had once taken a blast of fire head on and emerged without any burns. No human was capable of that.

"He's a…" The doppelganger's smile faded. "Uh… you sure this is the right guy?"

The fire around Kuyou intensified. "Last year, he defeated me with a _earthshaking_ punch. How do you not feel that power now?"

The doppelganger looked nervous. "No idea, but I feel like a human."

Kuyou looked puzzled. He had just seen Tsukune move with blinding speed a moment ago.

The doppelganger looked down at Tsukune's holy lock. "I wonder- **Umph**!" He yelped as Tsukune elbow-charged him, sending him flying into the nearby wall.

Tsukune turned and faced Kuyou. "If you want revenge, come straight after me. Just leave me friends out of this!"

Kuyou smiled. "That's right boy, get angry." He stretched his arm forward and released a blast of fire. Tsukune dodged it and charged straight for a punch. Kuyou however caught both his hands. "That's pretty impressive strength you got there," he said "but strength is all you've got. You have no combat training at all do you?" He tightened his grip on Tsukune's hands. As he held them in place, the aura of flames slowly began to burn them. Seeing that he couldn't back off, Tsukune tackled Kuyou and drove him into a wall.

Akuha watch the battle in awe. It seemed so much more impressive without the sharp senses of a vampire. She could hardly keep up with their movements. A sound behind her suddenly caught her attention.

"Ugggghhhh…" The doppelganger stood up with a hand on his head, looking a little dizzy. "He must have been granted power by someone or something else, it's the only way I couldn't copy his strength." He looked over at the little witch and licked his lips. "I'd take Kuyou's form, but he's a bit unapproachable at the moment." He pulled a knife out from his shirt. "My original form will have to do for now."

Much to the doppelganger's surprise, the twelve-year-old girl in front of him leapt forward and performed a high-kick, hitting the base of the knife and sending it flying out of his hands.

"Woa!" The doppelganger seemed somewhat shocked, and somewhat amused. "Those are some nice moves, girly." He grabbed Akuha from the back of her short cape and held her up in front of him. "If you were a little older, this would have been quite interesting." He started to feel something rapidly approaching him from behind.

"Put the flat-chested girl down!" Kurumu yelled with her razor sharp nails extended.

The doppelganger let Akuha go and swung around Kurumu's attack, ending up right behind her. "Wow, you're quick." He grabbed Kurumu's arm. "Your speed and power are greater than mine."

Akuha recognized that stepping maneuver. Apparently, the doppelganger had experience in some of the same martial arts she knew.

The doppelganger raised his other hand up. "In the case if my opponent outclasses me, I always got an ace up my sleeve."

"Kurumu, look out!" Akuha yelled as she lunged forward. "He can copy your abilities!" As the doppelganger placed his hand on Kurumu's face, Akuha made a sequence of quick spear-handed jabs against his arm.

"Agh!" The doppelganger pulled his arm back. It didn't hurt, but for some reason he had trouble moving it.

Kurumu stared in disbelief at what she just saw. "Yukari… did you just…"

"You're not out of the woods yet!" The doppelganger reached out with his other hand.

Mizore's ice claw came clear out of nowhere, striking vertically at his arm attempting to slice it off. "Don't zone out, Kurumu."

Responding to the new threat, the doppelganger pulled his arm back and dived his other hand at Mizore's face. "So, a creature that can manipulate ice."

"I don't like being touched by you." Mizore discharged a burst of ice at the doppelganger.

The doppelganger's cigarette flew out of his mouth. He took the blow straight to the chest and plummeted into the ground a few feet away. A large formation of ice crystallized and blossomed over where he landed. The ice was so thick, that no one could see him under it all.

"Yukari!" Moka shouted as she ran up to them. She noticed the large cuts on the witch's shoulder. "My goodness! You're hurt."

"I'll be fine." Akuha said. Even when body-switched, she was good at ignoring pain.

Suddenly, the mound of ice near them began to quiver. The upper half melted away, revealing the doppelganger that was trapped inside, kneeling on the stump of ice. He stood up, bearing the same outfit but with a different face… Mizore's face.

"He… he looks exactly like Mizore!" Kurumu shrieked.

"Of course I do," The doppelganger said with Mizore's blank, stoic voice, "why else would my race be called 'doppelganger?'" His (Mizore's) hair changed to an icy neon-blue texture. "We are a copycat race that can steal the forms of others." He slid down the ice and made a Jaw Moon Sao stance. "Uh…" He lost his composure as he looked down his body. "Come to think of it, I think this is the first time I've transformed into a girl…" His face turned red and blood leaked from his nose.

"Stop starring." Mizore swung her ice claws.

The doppelganger quickly evaded her. "To overcome my shyness of women, I'll experiment with this body later." He said with his hands on his chest.

"Like that'll happen." Mizore murmured. She sounded as if she were angry, but just didn't speak loudly.

As the fight began, Akuha grabbed Moka's wrist and pulled her away. As if body swapping wasn't enough, now they were dealing with a body-copycat. "Lets observe at a safer distance."

"Ah, okay."

Both Kurumu and Mizore dived at the doppelganger for another attack. "His ability is only to copy, he can't take us both on!"

The doppelganger smirked viciously. As the two girls came at him, he punched Mizore's claw up and Kurumu's wrist down. With a full spin around, he changed his hands into icy claws and struck both girls at once. "I am skilled in the martial arts, so I can push this body to it's full potential." Kurumu and Mizore fell to the ground. "Because of this, I can always overpower the original."

Mizore struggled to get up. "Damn, he counterattacked us both at the same time…"

The doppelganger formed his right hand into the likeness of a large ice claymore. "Your time's up." His enormous sword was suddenly shattered by an even bigger mace. "Huh?" He turned and found a young pigtailed redhead, swinging a spiked wrecking-ball bigger than she was.

"I hope they didn't wear you out!" Kokoa yelled.

"Curses. _Another_ one?" The doppelganger made an ice barrier between them. Kokoa smashed through it easily. "Tsukune, a succubus, a snow girl, this redhead; how many of them are there?" He jumped away from another smash. As he landed to the ground, he released bursts of ice all over the ground. Ice clones started to emerge and stand up all around him.

Kokoa stopped at the sight of 30 identical Mizores. She couldn't remember which one was the original. "Well look at this, the copycat is making copies of herself." Her smile washed out. "Wait… himself? Her… Him…" She grunted in frustration. "Argh! Whatever!" She changed with her mace ready.

Akuha and Moka watched the intense battle. To their left was Tsukune and Kuyou duking it out, and to their right was Kokoa fighting an army of ice clones. "First fight I've ever sat out on." Akuha thought, "I hate this… everyone's fighting and there's nothing I can do…" She looked up at her younger sister. "Moka," she said, "I think your abilities would come _very_ handy right now."

Moka's shoulder rose, and dropped. "Yeah but…" She grasped the rosary below her neck. "Tsukune's the only one that can remove it."

Akuha made a stern look. "I don't understand why Akasha would seal your powers off. Did it ever occur to her that something like _this_-" She pointed at the two fights in front of them, "-would happen?"

Moka shook her head. "I don't know why she sealed them off in the first place." Her eyes lit up. "Wait a moment," she said, looking at whom she thought was Yukari, "I don't remember sharing my mother's name."

They were interrupted as the doppelganger face-planted right in front of them. Kokoa came falling after him with her mace ready. As she smashed down on the ground, the doppelganger leapt away and escaped the blow just in time. He flew above Moka and landed behind her, grabbing her in a chokehold and using her as a living shield.

Kokoa made an 'oh crap' expression. If her opponent knew who he was holding…

"Let go of me!" Moka said as she kicked her legs forward.

The doppelganger brought his head over Moka's shoulder and inspected her. He couldn't make out why, but something told him he wanted to transform into her. His instincts practically roared at him to. "I wonder… what kind of monster is she?"

"She's a witch," Akuha quickly lied, "she's the same as me." If their foe were to copy a fully matured vampire, there would be no stopping him.

Ignoring Akuha, the doppelganger placed his hand on top Moka's forehead. He began to change again, this time growing long silver hair and red snake-like eyes. He looked just like Inner Moka, save for the outfit. "I never imagined this girl would have such power…"

"Moka…" Kurumu said as she stood up, "He was tough enough when transformed into Mizore, but now…" She looked over at Mizore, who lay bruised on the ground. "If he just changed into Inner Moka then we…"

The doppelganger stuck a new cigarette in his mouth and took out a lighter from his shirt. "Hmp, that sealing artifact…" He said looking down at Moka's Rosary. "It's sealed your powers away? What a waste." He lit his cigarette and tossed the lighter aside. "Seeing as you're unable to, _I'll_ put your powers to use."

Kokoa looked disgusted. "How filthy!" she roared, "You can never replace my sister!" She lunged with her mace ready. Akuha didn't think she had ever seen Kokoa filled with so much rage. Still, her powers hadn't fully matured yet, and she had a lot to learn about fighting. The doppelganger bolted forward and hit Kokoa with a thunderous palm strike.

"Kokoa!" Akuha yelled. Her youngest sister flew like a rag doll and landed.

"This is amazing!" The doppelganger sang as he flew through the air, "Infinite, immeasurable, unlimited! I feel it _all_! All this power surging through me!" He performed a sequence of Moka's signature high-kicks, pounding both Kurumu and Mizore in an instant. "No one can _stop_ me now! Ahahahahahaha!"

Akuha watched the battle in horror. Thing's just kept getting worse and worse by the moment. "Why… oh _why_ did this all have to happen _at once_?" She looked over at Tsukune, who still brawled with Kuyou. "Even if he were to beat Kuyou _right now_, he wouldn't stand a chance against a martial artist mimicking Moka's body, he's too worn out."

Kuyou landed a devastating uppercut on Tsukune's stomach, knocking him on his back. He coughed out a bit of blood and changed human again. To add even more to their problems, the ghoul inside of him was starting to cause trouble.

"Doesn't look like you need any help." The doppelganger said in Inner Moka's deep voice.

"Not really." Kuyou raised his right arm as it became engulfed with more fire. "How about you dispatch the others while I finish this one off?"

The doppelganger made a feminine pose, standing there with a hand to his hip exactly as Inner Moka commonly did. His copy ability also seemed to mimic a person's manners. He had spoken and acted blankly while transformed into Mizore, and he didn't sound so haughty before changing into Moka. "Fine with me." He pinched the cigarette in his mouth and held it between his fingers. His eyes rolled over to the three girls he had wounded earlier, then to the pretty pink-haired girl, and finally to the witch that stared furiously at him. "I love slicing up girls the most…" he said with a puff of smoke, "So, which of you ladies wants to go first?"

XXX

To be continued in next chapter…

* * *

MrDrProfessor4 opened a bottle of champagne. "Woohoo! This story has just surpassed 100,000 words!" He tried to drink the champagne, but ended up spilling it against his breath mask. "Like the last chapter, I had a lot of trouble staying focused on this one, but I figured out a neat trick to put me back on track…" He put the bottle down. "I shocked myself by watching horror movie trailers!" He picked up a piece of paper and read it. "Anyways, getting to the point:"

Said by Awesomeness: _Not to mess with your story, but I just read chapter 42 of season 2 of this manga and the leader of fairy tale is a woman. Don't want you to change anything you have planned just wanted to let you know for future ideas in this fanfiction._

"Don't worry man, already thought of all that. Notice that nearly everything Fairy Tale related has been vague so far? The overseer was just a branch officer anyways, not the leader." MrDrProfessor4 put the paper down. "I'll do the best I can to have things fit with canon, but if any future manga chapters contradict anything already released in this fic, just keep in mind that this _is_ an alternate time-line. Akasha still being around and Alucard never reemerging changes a lot."

The NCR Ranger shook his head. "Sounds more like you're making excuses."


	23. Chpt 23: Imitation

**I had a hard time getting motivated to write this chapter. Not a lot happens…**

**At least the plot really picks up real soon.**

**While no one has complained about the fights since chapter 11, just consider that they've been happening less frequently as the story has progressed. If you don't like them, skip them.**

* * *

**Yukari's Dormitory**

"It better work again ~ It better work again ~" Yukari said to herself. She hammered in the last nail that held the device's motherboard in. Next, she coated most of the interior with ceramics and cooling gel. "There, now it can be fired _many_ times before shorting out." While the last model was partially made from paper, this one was entirely made of _steel_. It was easy to bend metal using Akuha's hands. "It's finally complete!" She closed each of the compartments and held the _weapon_ up. "The Ishin Denshin: Modded Bazooka Form!"

Ishin Denshin: Bazooka. Unlike the original model, it fires only on max output, and can do so dozens of times before shorting out. Also unlike the original, it fires beams of energy, allowing it to work at long range. Once the beam comes in contact with another being, both the wielder and target are soul-switched.

"With this, we can switch back to the bodies we belong to." Yukari heaved what looked like a massive rocket launcher off the table. Sure it was heavy, but her body's strength made it feel as light as a feather. She wrapped the weapon up in a pillowcase, trying to make it look less conspicuous. "Well, better find Akuha and switch us back." She strapped it to her back and stood up. "Huh?" A jingling noise broke her train of thought. She looked down and noticed Akuha's onyx necklace. "This sure is important to her…" She took the necklace off. "I wonder who she got it from." She stuffed it in her pocket and left the room.

XXX

**School Grounds**

"Woohoo!" Yukari howled. She quickly hopped from rooftop to rooftop. Even without any experience, jumping around like this was so easy. "This is a blast! No wonder Akuha always does this!" She felt lighter than air. She wanted to fly like this forever… "I'm starting to have second thoughts." She landed on another rooftop and looked over her shoulder. "Yeah, I'd like my body back and all," she eyed the bazooka, "but I'm not sure if I want to switch back just yet…" She crossed her arms and thought. She enjoyed being in a matured body, and it would be a while before her own grew up. "Asking Akuha, or for that matter _any_ of the others, if I could borrow their body is just out of the question." Her eyes lit up as a new idea popped in her head. "I got it! My next invention will be growing drops!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" A scream was suddenly heard from a distance.

Yukari turned her head. "Huh?" She could recognize that voice anywhere. It was _her voice_, but it didn't sound like a cry of pain. It sounded more like a cry of frustration, like if someone were having such a bad day that he or she completely snapped. "I think I should…" she felt unsure of herself, "check it out I guess?"

XXX

The doppelganger stared half-baffled at the witch, whom had screamed loudly. "You about finished?"

Akuha sighed. "Yeah, I just had to let that out." While it seemed like she was losing it, the intention of her scream was to call for help. "I hope Yukari can recognize her own scream." she thought, "With a vampire's sense of hearing, I'm _sure_ she must have heard that."

"Well…" The doppelganger said, "since you're so eager, how about I-" With the vampire senses he had mimicked, he suddenly felt another presence nearby. It was powerful; like the aura of another vampire.

"Akuha!" Kokoa yelled as she looked up. She was glad to see her oldest sister, though she would have preferred her coming earlier.

From one of the high rooftops stood Yukari, trapped in Akuha's body, staring down at them curiously. She could piece together that her friends were being attacked, but by what? It looked like a nicotine-addicted Inner Moka that had separated from Outer Moka.

The doppelganger stared up at what he thought was Akuha. "On second thought," he said, "how about I start with her?"

Yukari jumped down, trying to look tough. The sight of her friends hurt obviously showed she'd better act first and ask questions later.

The doppelganger unbuttoned his vest and threw it off. "I heard you were pretty good, and if you _are_ as good as they say, my new powers can be pushed to the limit."

Yukari was tempted to say something, something like what heroes always said in movies, but she was busier wondering what the hell was standing in front of her. "I er… um…"

The doppelganger sped forward and high-kicked Yukari off the ground. The wrapped package went flying off her back.

Akuha ran forward and dived. She slid chest-down and narrowly caught the package. "So, a flat chest has its perks after all." She tried lifting whatever it was, but it was so damned _heavy_. "What exactly is this?" She tore off the pillowcase and found a steel bazooka. A label along the tube read 'Ishin Denshin: Bazooka Form'. "Wow, she put this together fast."

WHACK! A thunderous noise echoed as Yukari was kicked again. "What's the matter!" The doppelganger roared, "Why don't you fight back? Hah!" He released a storm of more kicks.

Akuha tried to lift the bazooka. "Perhaps I caught it for nothing…" Her frail bones ached as she placed it over her shoulder. "Well, at least it's not paper mache."

Yukari was propelled into the ground like a meteor.

"How disappointing!" The doppelganger howled from above, "You're just an amateur!" He landed in front of his prey, about to deliver the final blow. He stopped as he took notice of the bazooka pointed his direction. Could it be loaded with purified water pellets? "You won't get me that easy!" The doppelganger picked up and threw a rock.

The rock hit the side of the tube. "Gah!" Akuha accidentally fired away from her former body. ZAAAAP! A blinding flash of light detonated. The weight of the large bazooka suddenly vanished. "Huh? Where did it-" She stared down at her body, noticing she had become taller. "Ah!" she screamed as her chest jiggled, "What the hell is this!" There was no mistaking it: she was in Kurumu's body now. "It's a little hard to move…"

"Yukari!" Kurumu screamed from Yukari's body, "What did you do to me?" She dropped the bazooka and felt her chest. "I can't… feel… _anything_…"

The doppelganger put his hand down after shielded his eyes. "I wonder what that was about…" He eyed Yukari (in Akuha's body), who lay beaten below him. He eyed the bazooka across the courtyard. He didn't know what the weapon did, but he thought it'd be better to eliminate it first. He raced forward.

"Guys!" Tsukune yelled as blocked one of Kuyou's attacks, "The rosary, use the rosary!"

Akuha took a moment to process what he was hinting at, and then to shape what her opponent was thinking.

"But it won't-" Moka was yanked forward. "Ah!"

Akuha grabbed Moka by her rosary and grew out succubus-wings. "Oh no you don't!" She flew towards the bazooka to intercept.

The doppelganger shot his fist out for a punch. His arm suddenly came to a dead stop an inch away from the bazooka. "Wha… what the hell?" He noticed someone holding his arm in place, the bruised succubus. "No way!"

Akuha held his arm with both hands. Next to her stood Moka, her rosary still attached to her neck, but clasped below one of Akuha's palms. "You can copy our strengths," Akuha said, "but you also get our weaknesses!" She punched her enemy in the face, causing him to stumble backwards.

The doppelganger wiped his mouth. "Blood?" He said, noticing the red on his hand. "You girls sure got guts, and I'm going to spill them everywhere!"

Moka and the others withdrew, leaving only Akuha to stand her ground. "He's _far_ quicker than I am," she thought, "I can't defend myself, so…" She lunged forward to attack first.

The doppelganger watched the succubus spring at him. Compared to him she was a snail. "Is this a joke?" He easily caught her elbow strike. "Too slo- Arg!" Akuha straightened her arm out and punched him below the neck.

"Hah, that went well." Akuha said. She was using a technique that countered basic reflexes, starting with a predictable attack, followed by a second attack to catch her opponent off-guard. It wouldn't matter how much faster the doppelganger was if he couldn't see the attacks coming.

The doppelganger blocked another strike, only to get hit by a surprise attack. "What's going on here? She's suddenly gotten much better." Another strike sent him off his feet.

Using what little time she bought, Akuha ran back and snatched the Ishin Denshin. After placing it on her shoulder, she aimed back at her former body again.

"Yukari!" Kurumu yelled from Yukari's body, "You're switching us back right now!"

"Sorry, but that'll have to-"

Kurumu grabbed the bazooka and pulled on it. "What is this thing anyways? Some kind of mind switcher?" ZAAAAP! A blinding flash detonated again.

Akuha opened her eyes, though she didn't remember closing them in the first place. "Oh great…" Akuha said, this time from Mizore's body. Still, it was better than being in Yukari's frail body, and she didn't have giant boobs to wear her down. "Well, it's an improvement."

The doppelganger bent forward for a charge, looking pissed at the succubus. "I won't lose to a bunch of gi-" He was interrupted as a dense, icy mallet crashed into the side of his head. "Yowch!" He slid on his feet and faced the snow girl. "So you want a piece of me too eh?" He charged at her immediately.

Akuha pounded both fists into the ground. Large glaciers of ice formed around them, throwing her out of sight.

"You can't hide from me!" The doppelganger stomped on the ground, releasing a shockwave that shattered the ice. "There you are!" He found Akuha quickly and kicked her. Strangely enough, she shattered into shards of ice. "An ice clone?" The real Akuha lunged from behind with a large sword formed over both hands.

"I didn't think I could make such a convincing ice clone," Akuha thought, "especially not on my first try."

At the last moment, the doppelganger broke the ice sword with his fist. "Close, but you won't catch me with that again!" He grabbed her by the sweatshirt and threw her over his shoulder. _Only_ a sweatshirt landed on the ground in front of him. "What the… Where'd she go?"

WHACK! From above, Akuha smashed an ice mallet onto the back of her opponent's head. She had slipped out of the sweatshirt in the middle of being thrown.

The doppelganger stepped away with stars around his head. He was having trouble standing up. "Damn, everyone that's hit by that thing gets better at fighting." he thought, "Does it instantly grant martial arts knowledge or something?" Someone suddenly grabbed him from behind.

"Akuha! Now!" Yukari yelled as she held him in a lock. She rotated around to let Akuha get a clear shot at her back.

Akuha nodded. Without an opponent to worry about, she grabbed the Ishin Denshin and aimed it. ZAAAAP! Another blinding flash detonated.

"Oh yeah!" Akuha yelled. She could feel the power of a vampire coursing through her once again… but something still didn't seem right. Why did her head hurt? Why did she have long white hair? Why was there a cigarette in her mouth? "HUH?" Akuha screamed. She had traded bodies with the doppelganger.

In Mizore's body, Yukari bit her finger. "I guess being in physical contact messed it up." She held a frightened stare at something behind Akuha.

Akuha spat out the cigarette. "Oh no… _don't tell me_…" She slowly turned her head and saw her own body stand up and look at her.

"Ah, I get it now," The doppelganger said with Akuha's voice. "That's some kind of body-switching device!" He raised his fist. "And you've been my opponent all along!"

Akuha felt like she was going to cry. "Just fantastic!" she shrieked, nearly losing it, "We just made him even stronger!"

The doppelganger (in Akuha's body) punched Akuha (in the doppelganger's body). Akuha tried to block it, but her current body's arms weren't study enough. The body she was in had also taken far more damage thus far.

"I'm confused," Mizore said stoically from Kurumu's body, "who's in who right now?"

Kokoa lightly pulled on her pigtails. "I lost track," she said, "but at least we know why my sister… I mean who we _thought_ was my sister fought so terribly earlier."

Yukari gave Kokoa a dirty look, and glanced around. "Hmm… I think that _everyone_ here but you, Kyuou, and Tsukune have switched at least once now."

Akuha blocked a flurry of palm strikes. "Did Ruby put a curse on me or something?" she thought, "This is the worst luck I've had in my _entire life_!"

The doppelganger made a thrilling roar. "Haha! And I thought I was strong before!"

Akuha flipped away and landed. "I've got to calm down. The gap between our abilities is smaller now." She brought a knee up in front of her and stood on one leg. It wasn't a Muay Thai stance; she had her arms folded against her stomach. Instead, she was using a modified Kenpō stance that _only_ utilized kicking. "I don't think I've switched styles so frequently before."

"Trouble adjusting to the body?" asked doppelganger, "I know how it feels." He raced towards her again.

With only her right leg, Akuha let loose a variety of 30 different kicks she knew, striking with all of them every second in an ever-changing order. Even while using kicks, she still fought very differently from how Moka did. Moka always charged or jumped before kicking. Akuha stood her ground on one foot and kicked swiftly and erratically with the other.

The doppelganger bent forward after a painful kick to the stomach.

Akuha's right hand suddenly moved on it's own, placing itself on her stolen body's forehead. Her long white hair began to shrink and turn black. Her chest also seemed to get smaller. Little by little she started to resemble her original body. "Did I just use his copy ability?" she thought, "Perhaps wanting my body back triggered some kind of instinct." She jumped back and looked down at herself. It may have been a copy, but it would suffice.

"That was clever!" Kurumu cheered, "She copied herself into herself so that she could fight herself… as… herself?" She scratched her head, wondering what she just said.

The combatants exchanged blows, creating an echoing shockwave with every hit. Both of them attempted to palm strike the other, slap the other's arm away, block a roundhouse, and then chop the other on the side of the neck. Even their styles were similar, as they were both using Kenpō. It looked as if Akuha was fighting a mirror.

"This body smells like cigarettes." Akuha thought. "Transforming doesn't get rid of the smell, and _dear lord_ is it distracting." She backed up and began to fight defensively, not wanting to damage her original body too much. She didn't plan on keeping the body she was currently in, but the doppelganger was used to being someone else and wanted to stick with what he had. "I've got to pin him down somehow…" Akuha shot forward and tackled her opponent. She tried to pin him down, but her aching limbs were already beyond their endurance.

The doppelganger's nose bled as Akuha grunted on top of him. "Get off me!" He tried to kick her off.

Akuha leapt back and felt an idea creep into her head. She wouldn't like it, but nothing else was going to work. To her opponent's surprise, she turned around, facing directly away from him. "My chest size may not be impressive, but…" She looked over her shoulder, down at her rear end. Guys she met in the past often complemented her butt. "Did fate _plan_ on testing how dirty I could fight?"

The doppelganger watched her suspiciously. "I don't know what you're cooking up, but it's not gonna help you." Akuha suddenly flew at him. Dodging her would have been child's play, but something about what he was looking at made him freeze…

Akuha rammed her butt right into him. She would have yelled 'ass kicks you' if it wasn't so immature. While she couldn't imagine how, the doppelganger somehow _bounced_ away and smashed through a nearby wall. "I… I can't believe I just did that!" Staying focused, Akuha looked over at whoever was carrying the Ishin Denshin. "Kurumu right?"

What appeared to be Mizore shook her head. "No, Yukari."

Akuha held her hand out. "Throw me that."

The doppelganger got up. "You dare toy with me? I've been through much worse spots-"

Akuha shoved her butt in his face. "Say 'ah'!" The doppelganger plummeted into the ground with Akuha sitting on his face. He tried to push her off, but his nose bled as he touched her bottom. "I'm _so_ going to enjoy killing this guy!" Akuha shoved the Ishin Denshin against her opponent's stomach and pulled the trigger. ZAAAAP! This time the Ishin Denshin exploded after being used so much. In spite of the bright flash, her vision strangely blackened out. It felt like there was something on her face… "Gah!" She shoved the doppelganger off of her. "I never realized my backside was so…"

The doppelganger slowly got up and inspected himself. He looked pissed.

Akuha however was much happier with the trade. "Yeah baby!" she cheered with her fist raised, "I'm back!" She usually never shouted anything so immature, but she was just so glad to be back to normal.

"Don't think this changes anything!" the doppelganger yelled, "I'll kill you all the same!" He flew at her with a kick.

Akuha easily punched the doppelganger out of the air. He sprung back at her immediately, this time with a punch. Akuha caught his arm. "That was so predictable I didn't even bother phasing through it." She twisted it, causing a few bones to audibly snap.

The doppelganger pulled his arm back and retreated. "Bitch! I'll kill you for that!"

Akuha went on the offensive this time with an old fashion punch. The doppelganger effortlessly moved his head aside and let the attack skim by his ear. "I'll admit, you're not bad…" Akuha curved her arm and grabbed the back of his head. "But I've taken on martial arts for just such occasions like this." With a thunderous whack, she smashed her knee into his neck, just as she did the one of the lizardmen earlier.

The doppelganger coughed out blood as he pitched a roundhouse at Akuha.

"No matter how unlikely, I'm always ready to take on a stronger opponent!" Akuha extended her arm forward, blocking the kick with her arm and punching her opponent at the same time.

"I will not be bested!" The doppelganger lunged again, too stubborn to let up.

At the other end of the courtyard, Kuyou was beginning to tire out. "No! I will not lose to you again!" Tsukune shielded himself, taking punch after punch. "Last time you beat me because my guard was down, that's the only reason! I shall not let it happen again!"

A deafening shockwave echoed as Akuha struck the doppelganger again.

"What?" Kuyou looked over at his partner. He looked like he was done for. "I wont stand a chance in a two-on-one." he hissed.

Tsukune found an opening. "Sure is easily distracted…" He combined the remainder of his energy and struck Kuyou with an earthshaking punch. "Follow your own advice next time!"

"Why…" The doppelganger said as he struggled to get up, "Why can't I…"

"Beat me?" Akuha smiled. "I'd imagine you regularly overpower the original with your martial arts training." She brushed her hair aside. "But I'm nothing like the others you've fought in the past. Why can't you beat me? It's because I'm a _better_ martial artist."

"Don't count me out yet!" The doppelganger screamed.

Akuha leapt up high. "There's more to me than my natural abilities. What truly makes me strong is what's_ past_ the flesh!" She struck her opponent with a devastating kick.

Both Kuyou and the doppelganger were sent flying into the center of the courtyard, smashing into the ground and making two sizable craters.

"Aiya~" Akuha rubbed a bruise along her cheek. Every bit of damage she took was induced by herself from in the doppelganger's body. "That takes the cake for the _weirdest_ fight I've ever had."

A sudden round of applause boomed around the courtyard.

"Huh?" Akuha looked around. There were students watching them from the rooftops, the windows, and a couple of open doors. It looked like the entire student body was here. "Wait a sec, how long have they been watching us?"

"That was quite a show!" Ruby cheered as she approached her.

"Did you watch the _whole thing_?"

"Well…" Ruby's eyes rolled around. "Not exactly, but a lot of it."

Yukari came running up to them. "Yay! You beat him!" She hugged Akuha, trying to hang above the ground from her, but being in Mizore's taller body made it unworkable. "That was a crazy fight! Both of you were everyone else here at one time!"

"Actually," Mizore said blankly from Kurumu's body, "no one became Kokoa, and the doppelganger was never me… oh… I mean Kurumu." She picked up her white sweatshirt and slipped it on.

Akuha pushed Yukari away. She had trouble getting used to the sight of Mizore acting playful and Kurumu acting stoic.

"So," Yukari said, "did he copy me too?"

Akuha smirked. The first thing that came to her mind? 'Why would he _want_ to copy you?' Being struck in Yukari's body had been some of the most agonizing moments of her life. "Well no, he didn't steal your body. He took mine, Tsukune's, Mizore's, and Moka's."

"By yours you mean mine? Cause technically you were in my body at the time."

Akuha buried her face into her palms. "No, he didn't change into me while I was you. He changed into me while I was him and he was me. Remember? It was right before he became him and I became me again."

Yukari just stared at her. "Being an adult is complicated…"

"Yukari!" Kurumu raged from the little witch's body. "Uh…" She looked at each of the girls. "Who's Yukari in?"

"Mizore."

"Yes?" Mizore said from Kurumu's body.

"Not you. Her." Akuha pointed at Yukari, whom was in Mizore's body.

"Yukari!" Kurumu grabbed her by the neck.

"Huh?" Tsukune said as he approached them. "Why's Yukari shouting her own name?"

Moka pointed at Yukari. "Well, Yukari here made a-"

"But that's Mizore."

"No, _that's_ Mizore over there."

"But that's Kurumu!"

Akuha turned away and grinded her teeth. "What has science done?" She felt something in her pocket, and pulled it out. "Oh there you are." She dangled the onyx necklace in front of herself. "I was afraid Yukari lost it."

XXX

To be continued in next chapter…

* * *

**I **_**slaved**_** over Tsukune's side of the fight, but I couldn't think of anything besides "He punched, he kicked, he punched, he kicked!" Lets bloody freakin' face it, he has **_**NOTHING**_** to work with! NO material at this stage of the story!**

**Gosh dang it to heck! Arrrrggggghhhh! *Gunshot***

***Silence…***


	24. Chpt 24: Vacillation

Legend96 said: _Since the plot is starting to pick up soon does that mean 24 will be out sooner?_

**This chapter was finished on the day I started on it. Don't try to get used to the quick uploads though. I can't say I'll stay in the writing mood for very long.**

**I guess the fight scenes were hard focus on cause of how many times I re-imagined and rehearsed them. You know, before I started writing them.**

chad001 said: _if Tsukune seems like he has nothing, and one of his newest admirers is a COMBAT SPECIALIST, who knows MARTIAL ARTS, get her to teach him. Problem solved._

**It's probably not much of a spoiler to say I already plan on having that happened later. Saying 'at this stage of the story' was sort of a hint.**

**Why doesn't he learn martial arts right now instead of later? "_It's okay, I don't usually like to think about fighting_". He just isn't motivated to yet.**

* * *

**Outdoor Cafeteria**

"Stop it! Give that back!" Kuzu yelled as he learned forward. He couldn't see anything, but he felt two pairs of arms grab him and throw him backwards. He felt his back slam into a wall. "Argh!" His back slid down the wall until he was in the dirt.

"You want this back?" One of the students said in front of him. The swish noise that followed suggested he was holding Kuzu's cane in front of him. "What're ya gonna do if I don't, _little man_?" He jabbed Kuzu between the eyes with the cane.

Laughter from a few other boys rang around. Kuzu couldn't see them, but from what he heard, there were probably at least six of them.

"Weaklings like you don't get to make demands." The bully sneered under his breath.

"Weakling?" Kuzu summoned all the courage he had. "Guess I am, but what about you guys?" He knew the bullies would beat him up for this, but his values roared at him to say it. "A group of students ganging up on a blind freshman while he's alone?"

WHACK! The ringleader of the boys struck him across the face with the cane. "Don't try to pass yourself off as anything special!" He continued to hit him, over and over. "We take the liberty to remind _lots_ of kids where they stand! You're just another brat added to that list."

Kuzu fell into the dirt.

"Since you want this back so badly…" The bully dropped the cane. Kuzu could hear the sound of plastic crackling as it landed. "Come and get it," he snickered, "if you can find it!" The boys laughed and walked away.

"Me and my big mouth." Kuzu struggled to get up. "I should have kept it shut."

"Kuzu! Are you alright, man?"

Kuzu could recognize that voice from anywhere. It was his roommate. "Tadashi, were you standing there watching all that?"

Tadashi helped Kuzu up and walked him to one of the nearby tables. "Standing? I was eating dirt, same as you." He set Kuzu onto one of the chairs. "Are you blind or something? They beat me up too-" His voice trailed off. "Oh…"

Kuzu felt his chest. It was a little sore from the few kicks they gave him. "What'd they do to my cane?"

Tadashi hesitated to answer. "They threw it in a garbage can."

Kuzu nodded. At least that explained the plastic crackling noise. "Well, it could be wor-"

"The cafeteria garbage can."

Kuzu groaned. "Aww great…"

Tadashi fished the cane out of the piles of half-eaten food, poured drinks, and ketchup. It was slimy, and smelt horrible. "Yuck, we better get this cleaned." He walked back over to Kuzu and put his arm over his shoulder. "Use _me_ as your walking stick. We're going back to our dorm."

Kuzu managed a smile. "Thanks Tadashi."

They continued walking back for a while. Tadashi tried to avoid being seen by other students, not wanting their reputations to sink even lower than they were.

"Kuzu?" Tadashi said, breaking the silence, "Why didn't you just transform?"

"Transform?"

"Yeah, throughout that whole beating you got, you stayed in your human form the whole time. Why?"

"It's cause I'm the runt of the litter." Kuzu said, "My transformed state isn't any stronger." He made a crooked frown. "Those guys were right, I _am_ just a weakling."

Tadashi cocked a curious eyebrow. "What kind of monster are you anyways?"

Kuzu hesitated to answer. "I'm a Shadow Claw."

"What? Really?" Tadashi's face lit up. "Why didn't you pummel those jerks then? I heard Shadow Claw were _mad_ powerful!"

Kuzu shrugged. "Yeah, my kind is strong. We're distant cousins of the far more powerful vampires." He let out a sigh. "My father, my mother, my older brother… they're all very strong…"

"And you're not?"

"I'm not." Kuzu shook his head. "I was born with some kind of birth-defect that keeps me from channeling energy."

"So you can't fight because of that?"

Kuzu's shoulders rose, and dropped. "My race also uses energy to see, like a sonar, and that's why I can't see either. I'm no different from a blind human."

Tadashi gritted his teeth. "Damn, talk about drawing the short straw."

"Yeah…" Kuzu's head sunk down. "Father was so disappointed… to have such a weak son. He was glad to get rid of me."

XXX

**Other Side of Campus**

After class was over for the day, Tsukune and his friends decided to spend some time in one of the many courtyards along the perimeter of the school. While Tsukune saw it as an ordinary get-together, Kurumu, Yukari, and Mizore each saw it as a celebration for having their original bodies back, especially Kurumu.

"Catch!" Kurumu howled in a frenzy, throwing a frisbee at Yukari. It looked as if she were aiming for her head.

Yukari closed her eyes in fear and caught it through dumb luck. "Ouch! You didn't have to throw that so hard!" She opened her eyes. "You're not still mad at me are you?"

"Maybe a little…" Kurumu said innocently, "Now hurry up and throw it to someone."

"Okay." Yukari nodded and aimed the frisbee at Mizore. "Here it…" She tossed it as hard as she could. "Comes!" It flung up, around, and bonked the back of her head.

Akuha, Moka, and Tsukune each chuckled from a nearby outdoor-table.

"I think I'll join them." Moka said, maintaining the shining smile she usually wore. She took out a small make-up bottle and placed it on the table. "I'll leave this here." She got up and joined the others.

Akuha noticed the make-up bottle, frowned, and pushed it further away.

"Have something against make-up?" Tsukune asked.

Akuha shrugged. "Not that it's anything personal, I just don't like being around it."

Tsukune looked at the make-up bottle. "You know, you don't need to keep up that tough act all the time. Not in front of your friends, and certainly not your sister."

"Huh?" Akuha looked curiously at him. "Oh." She shook her head with a grin. "No, I don't dislike make-up cause it may ruin my image or anything."

"Why? Does the smell bothers you? I noticed you didn't like the stink that drenched the doppelganger."

"Well… it's not exactly that either. To be honest, I'd say its cause I'm not fond of the people that usually wear it."

Tsukune gestured towards the others playing frisbee. "But they wear make-up all the time, even Moka does too. That bottle on the table is hers after all."

"Yeah, but she doesn't wear a _ton_, just a little bit." Akuha rested her elbow on the table. "You ever notice the kind of girls that just _cover_ themselves in make-up? I mean to the extent that it becomes a second lair of skin."

"Oh," Tsukune laughed, "I know what you're talking about, a really materialistic girl."

"Typically they're not very smart, they're self-absorbed, and they make the biggest dramas about the dumbest problems!"

Tsukune's smile faded. "You're… kind of generalizing them, Akuha. You can't just stereotype someone cause she's got a lot of make-up on."

Akuha leaned her back against the side of the table, watching the girls as they played frisbee. "Well just think about it Tsuk, if a girl is covered in a mountain of make-up, what then does that say about her? What are her interests? What does she spend her boyfriend's money on?"

"I guess I understand what you're saying." Tsukune watched as Mizore propelled herself up with a rising ice formation, catching the frisbee up high. "Do you think of any of _them_ in this way?"

"Not at all, Tsuk. Sure, maybe Kurumu really likes shopping, but she's by no means selfish." Akuha moved her back from the table and leaned forward with her arms resting on her knees. "The kind of person I'm talking about is _obsessive_ over outward appearances. Not as pretty as she'd like to be, and sees beauty products as a way to change that."

Tsukune put a few fingers on his chin. "Come to think of it, I've seen plenty of chunky girls covered in make-up and with their nails painted." He set his hand down at looked back at the make-up bottle. "But to be completely honest, I don't really mind people like that. If someone is stuck-up, _then_ that's when I dislike the person."

Akuha eyes rolled to the side. "I don't know what the public calls this stereotype, but aren't they always stuck-up?"

Tsukune frowned again. "See? You're generalizing people again."

Akuha looked a little irritated. "Well aren't they _likely_ to be this way?"

"They can be, but that doesn't mean they'll always be. _Anyone_ can be snobbish."

"But when you compare apples to apples, you don't compare the tallest woman to the shortest man. By percentage, aren't girls that are overblown with make-up more self-absorbed than those that are not?"

Tsukune just looked at her. She seemed angry. Maybe this topic really was something personal?

Akuha sunk her head closer to her arms. "Sorry Tsuk, but after all the things I've been through, the site of a girl moping over the smallest problems makes me _sick_." Her head sunk lower. It sounded like she was whispering something to herself. "So I left them down there…"

"Akuha?"

Akuha sat upright again. "It's nothing, just forget about it." Her onyx necklace jingled.

"Well, speaking of buying stuff at a mall…" Tsukune pointed at her necklace. "That's very important to you isn't it?"

Akuha gently grasped the necklace. "Yeah, but not because it makes look any prettier. It because of what it means to me."

"Means to you?" Tsukune couldn't imagine what that would be. Friendship? Her first memorable birthday?

Akuha's face turned red. "To me it's-" In a blink of an eye, she moved her head to the side and caught the frisbee the girls were playing with, holding it where her head had just been. "Watch where you throw this damned thing!" She yelled, a bit more fiery than usual. She threw the frisbee back.

Mizore caught it under her stomach, and was knocked onto the ground. "Wow, that was a nice throw."

"Yeah." Kurumu nodded. "Akuha, how about you join us?"

Akuha stared at them uncertainly. "Well…"

"You too Kokoa!"

"What?" Kokoa, whom had been watching them from the sidelines, looked far more nervous. "A proud vampire like me, playing Frisbee with lower beings like yourselves? That would be shameful!"

"Moka's a vampire too! Know the shame." Yukari chirped. "Just set your pride aside and enjoy this with us."

Kokoa crossed her arms and sternly looked away.

Akuha just sat there, before Tsukune gave her a pat on the back. "Fine, I'll give it a try." She stood up.

"Wha… What!" Kokoa watched in disbelief as Akuha front-flipped up high and caught the thrown frisbee. "Nee-sama! What're you…"

"Getting a quick workout. What's wrong with that?" Akuha readied the frisbee. "Get ready for this Kokoa!" A deafening sonic boom was head as she tossed it.

"Ahhh!" Kokoa put her hands up to try and catch it. She caught it all right, but was carried off the ground and into a wall. "Umph!" She bounced off the wall and landed.

"Nice catch!" Yukari yelled, "That was pretty hardcore."

"I'll show you hardcore!" Kokoa screamed at her. She threw the frisbee as hard as she could.

"Haha…" Moka laughed happily as she returned to the table. "That's Kokoa for you. Little girl, big attitude." She sat at Akuha's old seat.

While still high in the air, Akuha tossed the frisbee at Kokoa again. "Let's see you catch this!" Like last time, the frisbee broke the sound barrier.

"And that's Akuha for you." Moka said, "Aggressive, and loves to challenge others."

Tsukune smiled. "She challenged you a lot when you were little?"

Moka nodded. "Yeah, we sparred against each other when we were little." She took a deep breath and noticed that the sky was beginning to turn orange. "My record… was 12 wins and 117 loses. I rarely ever won against her."

"Well, she's older, and a heck a martial artist. Beating her only _once_ is something to be proud of."

"Yes but…" Moka paused, "Pretty much all my wins were not long before I moved out of the house."

"You think she was letting you win? Like trying to be nice to you before you leave?"

"No," Moka grinned, "she would never do that." She started to look curious as she stared into the clouds. "Come to think of it, she seemed a little distracted at that time, like something was really bothering her, especially whenever my mother was nearby."

XXX

**Ruby and Akuha's Dormitory**

Both Ruby and Akuha lay in their beds, both wide awake. The lights were off, but it had only been that way for about five minutes.

"Akuha?" Ruby said out of the blue.

Akuha kept staring at the ceiling. "What is it Ruby? You having trouble sleeping?"

"No, just curious about something."

"Ask away then."

"What happened to Kuyou and the doppelganger after they were defeated? Were they taken to some kind of prison?"

Akuha rolled onto her side. "I believe the doppelganger was sent to a rehabilitation center. As for Kuyou, he just isn't allowed on campus anymore."

"That's it?" Ruby sounded disappointed. "My my, he got off easy."

Akuha chuckled. "Not really. He had a lot of medical bills to pay off, and me twisting his limbs to keep him down didn't help."

The girls exchanged a few laughs.

"Hey!" Ruby said excitedly, "I almost forget to mention it, do you remember what's going down tomorrow?"

"Uh," Akuha couldn't think of anything. Perhaps she hadn't been paying enough attention to that kind of stuff. "No, what's the occasion?"

"Well…" Ruby said with a wink, "tomorrow is when the freshmen get into club activities. The whole campus, inside the buildings and out, will be flooded with booths, all advertising different clubs."

"So then how does this concern me? Do a lot of fights break out during this event?"

Ruby shook her head. "Not really, it just feels like a holiday. There's lots of free food and it only comes once a year. Besides maybe the end-of-the-year festival, it's about as lively as the school gets."

Akuha nodded in acknowledgment. "Never really cared about that kind of stuff." She had poor social skills and didn't like loud public areas. She could stomach a _person_, but just not _people_. "I've had my mind on more recent events."

"Still thinking about that fight the other day? Maybe their henchmen are still lurking around?"

"No, it has nothing to do with that. It's something about the recent fights I've broken up. They've seemed a little…" Akuha's voice trailed off.

"A little what? Strange?"

"_Very_ strange. Since three days ago, there's been over _ten times_ as many fights on campus, and the change just happened overnight."

"You know…" Ruby scratched one of her eyebrows. "Maybe a bunch of delinquents formed a few groups and they're having a gang war."

"It's definitely not that." Akuha took a much more serious tone. "Not one of these fights seemed to have any relation to the next one… although, they all got something in common. I can't really explain it."

"What're they like? Can you describe one?"

"Well…" Akuha rolled onto her back again. "Just earlier today, I found two strong guys of the same age and in the same class punching each other. They were _really_ going at it, and they looked… distraught. It was like they were both angry and remorseful at once." She frowned at the thought of those boys. "I broke it up, and had a long talk with them. Scary thing was, I found that the two of them were friends."

"Friends?"

"Best friends. They had been hanging out and attending the same schools since they were small boys."

"Wow, I can't imagine what it was they were fighting over. Maybe they've got a love-hate relationship?"

"They don't. This was actually the first time they've ever thrown punches each other." Akuha shut her eyes, trying to relax herself. "From what I gathered, they were fighting over a very pretty girl."

"Was it anyone we know? Moka and the other girls are considered to be the '_fairest of them all_' around here."

"It wasn't them. I asked the others but they didn't seem to know what I was talking about."

"Did you at least get the girl's name then?"

"Nope, and that's what seemed so strange to me. Neither boy even knew the girls name." Akuha pulled her bed sheet over herself. "Two lifelong friends beating each other up… over a girl they had met for the first time. Doesn't happen everyday does it?"

XXX

**The Next Morning**

The school grounds were _indeed_ quite lively. The interior of the school buildings felt like a high-spirited and noisy shopping mall. The courtyard on the other hand felt like an energetic carnival. There were clubs advertising themselves everywhere. The game club, the tennis club, the reading club, there was no end to them.

"Wow," Akuha said as she walked along, "Ruby wasn't kidding." With her were Mizore and Kokoa. The rest of her friends were all busy at the newspaper club booth, trying to get some freshmen to join.

"Come on," Mizore said, gesturing them to pick up the pace, "the booths aren't much further."

"Which booths?" Akuha asked, "Where're we going?" She had only recently found the two of them walking around, and didn't know what they were up to.

"Mizore told me about the martial arts clubs." Kokoa said, "She and Kurumu train with them sometimes, so I wanted to check them out."

Akuha continued to follow them. "You're already part of the newspaper club, Kokoa."

"I know," Kokoa smirked, "but we're allowed to drop a club for another. Besides, if I want to get stronger like you or Moka, isn't a martial arts club a good idea?" She was still bothered by how easily the doppelganger beat her two days ago. Even Kurumu and Mizore faired better.

Akuha shrugged. "Hmm… martial arts eh? I guess I'd like to see them too, though I don't expect much."

"Why not?" Kokoa asked, "The martial arts clubs at this school are said to be at a high-level."

Akuha chuckled playfully. "I've encountered quite a lot of people that learned martial arts from public dojos or their high schools, and I can tell you this, _none of them knew the first thing about combat_! Keeping you fit is pretty much the height of what they can do."

Kokoa rolled her eyes. "Well what do you suggest then? A class to keep me working out is better than nothing."

"I guess that's true. If you want any _real_ martial arts training, you'd first need to find someone that actually _knows_ how to fight. We'd be lucky if just one of the clubs leaders know anything beyond brute strength."

Kokoa made a stern look at her. "Why are you always so quick to assume this stuff?"

"I'm not assuming anything." Akuha crossed her arms. "When you've seen it a thousand times, you come know to what to expect. We _could_ find a good martial arts teacher, but I'm not betting money on it."

The three of them passed by dozens of more crowds and elaborate booths.

"Here we are." Mizore said. In front of them were lots of stands and stages in front of an old-Japanese-style building. "The martial arts clubs."

Akuha looked around from booth to booth. One of them had two men grappling each other. "That one is Jujutsu." Another one had two men fighting with wooden swords. "That's Kenjutsu." Another had a guy joint locking someone. "That's Aikido." And another had a large stage with stacks of gravestones on it, probably for Karate-chopping. "And that one's Karate."

Kokoa lifted an eyebrow. "Wow, can you recognize them with just a glance?"

Akuha nodded. "I've fought a _ton_ of people using one or more of these styles."

Mizore rotated the stick of her lollipop with her finger. "After watching you fight, I dare say you could _teach_ every one of these classes yourself."

Akuha made a modest face. "Not really. Sure I recognize Japanese martial arts, but I haven't learned any of them. I've mastered _Chinese_ martial arts, and a little bit of Thailand kickboxing."

Kokoa eyed her sister curiously. Now that she thought about it, Akuha didn't know a thing about Muay Thai before Moka moved out of the house seven years ago. Maybe she picked it up after that?

Mizore stared at Akuha like a robot. "Interested in joining one of these clubs?"

"What?" Akuha remarked, "But I'm not a student."

"Doesn't place any restriction on you though, remember? Ruby was allowed to join the newspaper club and she isn't a student either."

"Yeah," Kokoa said eagerly, "and what martial arts club _wouldn't_ want you after seeing that fight yesterday?"

Akuha shook her head and laughed. "Alright, but I'd like to see what these clubs are made of first."

CRASH! At the Karate booth, a large student in a Karate uniform had punched at a pile of 15 gravestones on the stage, shattering two-thirds of them.

"Wow! He broke through ten of those gravestones!" Yelled a student.

"The Karate club is awesome!" Cried another.

Akuha noticed the commotion and growing crowd. "Like a baby fascinated by a light bulb…"

A different, much smaller Karate club member stood up. "Step right up!" He called, "Break more gravestones than my brother and, you'll get the grand prize of 50,000 yen!" His voice quieted down. "Just 1,000 yen per trial." His voice picked back up. "Anyone? The record is ten!"

At least a dozen 'tough-guys' scrambled forward. The first two that tried couldn't seem to break through just one gravestone. The third one only broke through two, and no one else could do any better.

"You want to give it a try?" Kokoa asked her older sister.

"Sure…" Akuha put a hand over her head. "I'm always up for a challenge." She pushed through the crowd and worked her way to the stage.

Mizore watched without a hint of emotion. "If it were anyone else," she said to Kokoa, "I'd ask you if you think she can do it."

When it was finally her turn, Akuha paid off the 1,000-yen fee and came onto the stage. The large audience of students quickly quieted down and watched with anticipation. They looked really excited. "Hmm…" Akuha lightly tapped her finger onto the gravestone pile below her. The acoustics suggested they were _far_ denser than the ones the Karate members were using. "What a scam…" She raised her right hand up, not making a fist, but putting her intermediate phalanges (_middle segments of the fingers_) forward instead.

"Huh?" Mizore eyed Akuha's hand. "Kokoa, what kind of punch is she trying?"

SMASH! Akuha plunged her hand down, making a fist upon impact. Her hand shattered straight through all 15 gravestones, and even penetrated through the ground all the way up to her elbow.

The students all roared in applause.

"Yes!" Kokoa cheered with her fist raised. "That's my sister for you!"

"Always showing off?" Mizore said with a weak grin.

The two Karate club members stared at Akuha in disbelief.

"Well," Akuha blushed a hair aside as she approached them. "I'll take my 50,000-yen now."

The smaller Karate club member jittered. "But… but you're not a student, we don't _have_ to pay you anything!"

"Should have thought about that before accepting my entrance fee." Akuha looked over at the mound of broken concrete. "Besides, it's the least you can do after giving me a _far_ studier gravestone pile than the ones you've been using." She casually pointed at the crowd. "If you'd like, I could tell the previous challengers about this scam you're trying to pull."

XXX

Kokoa and Mizore waited around for five minutes before Akuha returned.

"Check this out." Akuha held up a stack of cash.

Kokoa flicked her fists excitedly. "Hah! They're probably crying over all the money they've lost."

Akuha pocketed the money away. "When you gamble, wager small and be prepared to lose everything."

Kokoa couldn't help but feel hyper. She carried a firm belief that vampires were always the greatest by default. A triumph for any vampire felt like a victory for her. "By the way Nee-sama, what kind of punch did you use? Doesn't look like anything I've seen you use before."

"Oh?" Akuha bent her right hand the way it was earlier and held it above the ground. "You're talking about this right?"

Mizore looked intrigued. "Can you tell us how that works?"

Akuha shrugged. "Don't see why not." She placed the middle segments of her fingers onto the ground. "You know how you build up energy when you flick with your finger? You push your index finger forward while holding it back with your thumb." She began to push down. "This punch uses the same concept." Her hand shook a little from the pressure she was building up. "I punch with all my strength, and then make a fist upon contact." She snapped her hand into a fist and released the potential energy. Despite not moving her fist much, a notably loud thump was heard. "This gives my punch much more power. It's all about timing."

"That's pretty cool, Nee-sama." Kokoa said, "On second thought, I don't think I'll join a martial arts club. They all pale in the face of a _true_ martial artist!"

Mizore tilted her head. "You really look up to your sisters, don't you Kokoa?"

While Akuha was still bent over, she felt someone approaching from behind. "Hah!" Akuha spun around and palm stuck the stranger in the face.

"Gaaaah!" Ginei was knocked over. "Gheesh… ouch!"

"Ginei?" Akuha stared down at him. "Sorry, I thought you were trying to grope me, so hitting you in the face was just a reflex."

"Bah!" Ginei stood up angrily. "I was only stopping here to say hi to my friend Haji." He turned and walked away. Getting hit in the face put him in a bad mood. "Who would want to grab you anyways? You got more _balls_ than any guy at this school."

Akuha watched him as he walked off. "I thought about apologizing, but he can forget about that now."

Mizore nodded. "If it helps you feel any better, his hand _was_ going for your butt."

XXX

**Empty Alleyway**

Kuzu was knocked down again.

"Hey mutt…" One of the bullies whispered near his ear, "How's it hanging?"

"I'm just minding my own business!" Kuzu cried. He felt his cane being taken from him again. It was his most prized possession, and a gift from his grandfather. He wanted it back, but knew that he couldn't do anything about it.

The bully hacked up a nauseating spit-wad and released it onto the cane. "Want it back?" He turned around and threw it off into the distance. "Fetch!" The bullies each laughed.

"Bad dog!" Another bully said, "He's not going after it."

"The useless mutt can't see that's why."

Kuzu huddled in fear. "Can't you just leave me alone? I was just looking for a club." He felt one of the bullies kick him in the stomach.

"Of course not. We're doing the school a huge favor you know."

"Yeah. No self-respecting club would let you join anyways." They began to depart.

"Hey, want to get something to eat?" One of them asked.

"Okay." Another bully held up Kuzu's wallet. "Got plenty of cash after all."

Kuzu looked in the direction the bullies left at. They had stepped all over him and they were sure to do it again. There was nothing… nothing he could do but keep taking it

"Young man." said a feminine, gentle sounding girl.

Kuzu couldn't see her, but felt her kneeling down beside him.

"Do you hate them?" The girl asked. She placed something in his hand.

XXX

To be continued in next chapter…

* * *

**Someone practically flamed me for not agreeing with his version of this chapter's opening.**

"_It was a normal day at Yokai Academy_." Really? Are you _serious_?

**When you write a story, you want to begin with something that grabs attention, like a witty quote. "'Where's papa going with that axe?' asked Fern." is so much better than "Charlotte was a big gray spider." as the opening for Charlotte's Web. Now stop bugging me about it!**


	25. Chpt 25: Parfaite

Legend96 said: _Is this fanfiction gonna end with Tsukune and Akuha together or a cliffhanger when it comes to his choice even though we all know it's Moka_

Not quite how this fiction will end.

Said in Chapter 12's Author Notes: _I know what I want to have next, but it's probably too dark and edgy. Most Rosario + Vampire stories are harem comedies, and I dislike that genre whenever it's the primary focus._

Empathies on 'primary focus'. I already admitted that this story wouldn't remain light-hearted forever.

Legend96 also said: _Even though I asked this question already I would like an answer do you plan on having fong fong and ling ling in this fanfic_

I didn't respond last time cause I thought it was obvious.

I appreciate the questions, as responding to them keeps me from going insane. Don't double post please.

* * *

**School Hallways**

Ginei walked by the energetic booths and through the noisy crowds, carrying with him a tall stack of papers that went up to his chin. His spirits weren't as high as they usually were. Being hit in the nose and given tasks to keep him away from the girls put him in a lousy mood. He also couldn't talk with Haji, as he was dealing with an unexpected money-loss that nearly bankrupted his club.

"I don't really think we need more members," Ginei thought, "We managed just fine with only four of us at the beginning of last year." He began to doze off and autopilot through the school hallways. He knew the school like the back of his hand and could probably walk it blindfolded. "Opphh!" He suddenly bumped into someone while he was looking out a nearby window. The both of them fell backwards, and the paper Ginei was holding fell all over the floor. "Sorry. I wasn't paying-" His eyes went wide at the sight of who he bumped into.

An extraordinarily pretty girl was sitting on her knees before him. Her eyes were closed due to the sudden collision. "Oww…" She said as she scratched her head. With a closer look, it was obvious she wasn't Japanese. She had long, straight, gray hair that extended down to her waist. She seemed to be wearing the standard school uniform and shoes, but in place of the knee-high blue socks, she had long black leg-socks that went up to the thighs, similar to Kokoa's. On her head was a black hair-band with fancy lace trimmings and ribbons at each end, around her neck was a black neck-ribbon, and she wore a tear-shaped diamond necklace. It was shaped a lot like Akuha's onyx necklace, but was much larger.

"Whoa!" Ginei thought, "This girl's as pretty as Moka! I never imagined anyone could look just as gorgeous!"

The girl looked at Ginei, revealing her dark purple eyes. "Oh dear." She giggled playfully. "How very clumsy of me." As she reached for one of the papers that were dropped, Ginei placed his hand onto hers. "Mmm?" She muttered, sounding intrigued.

"It's alright, I was the one at fault." Ginei smiled at the girl. "By the way, has anyone told you before…" He stroked his chin. "That you have the most beautiful eyes?" In spite of talking about her eyes, his vision seemed to be focused on something straight below them.

The girl turned her head slightly and smiled at him.

Ginei gently pulled her hand closer. "In fact, they resemble jewels." He kissed her hand.

The girl giggled to herself. "You're too kind."

"By the way," he said as he released her hand, "I'm Ginei Morioka, president of the newspaper club, though you can call me 'Gin'."

"Very well Gin," The girl gave a polite bow. "I am…" she paused, "Irena de Kermeur. It is an honor to meet you."

Ginei supposed that the girl was some sort of foreign exchange-student. "Please," he said with his hand up, "you don't need to bow or anything. You're in Japan now."

"No need to extrapolate me." Irena stood up. "It's nothing to do with being French. I just come from a very aristocratic family."

Ginei picked up most of the papers again. "My apologies." He stood up as well. "So, I can tell you're new here. Have you made many friends?"

Irena folded her hands together and shrugged. "No one as of yet." she said, still maintaining her smile, "Even back home, everyone's always had a fanatical conception that I'm Little-Ms-Perfect. Consequently I've never made many friends." She leaned forward with an even brighter smile. "Will you be my first friend at this academy?"

"Yes." Ginei answered immediately. "I'd be _more_ than happy to." He also leaned forward, intending to put his arms around her.

"That's good." Irena backed up, avoiding Ginei's embrace. "Hey!" To Ginei's surprise, she didn't sound offended at all, and instead took it as a harmless joke. "I'd fancy you keeping your hands to yourself." She giggled playfully.

Ginei drew back. "You don't need to worry, I'm not a dirty guy."

Irena made sort of a devious look. "Are you really? A single glance can tell you so much about someone. Noting what they laugh at, their body language…" She looked like she was about to crack up. "What they're _staring_ at."

Ginei was starting to doze off at Irena's breasts. "Sorry, what was that?"

XXX

**The Woods**

Only a short distance from school grounds, staff members and authorities were gathered all over a taped-off area in the dead forest, all investigating what had occurred there only a day ago. Word of it didn't get around until two students playing hooky had come across it, a dismembered mutilated body.

"Sure you can stomach this?" Ruby asked as she and Akuha entered the restricted area.

"I _know_ I can stomach this, and a lot more." Akuha said. She was already informed of the bloody mess, but she had cut people apart herself in the past. "I'm used to this sort of stuff."

Ruby looked uneasily at her for a moment. "Well, you did say you worked as an assassin." The both of them softly walked towards a small clearing. "Well," Ruby pointed and looked away, "this is him."

Akuha saw the bloody, decapitated body in the middle of the barren clearing. He appeared to be a student, as he was wearing a red-stained school uniform. Most notable was his severed head, pinned to a nearby tree with two daggers stabbed through the eyes. "Gruesome." Akuha said impassively. She inspected the rest of the body, where there was a massive opening in the chest with fragments of organs spread like a salad. "It looks almost as if he were… eaten."

"The daggers suggest it wasn't an animal." Ruby still looked in another direction. "What kind of sick mind could have conjured this? I hurled last time I looked at this mess."

Akuha casually walked closer to the body. "Then don't look at it." She knelt down and inspected the mound of flesh and blood. Placing the brutality of the execution aside, something seemed very strange about how the torso was opened up. The perimeter of the opening looked like outlines of handprints, as if the attacker ate the victim with his hands. "Eww…" Akuha stood back up and fanned the smell away. "Certainly smells bad."

"Smells bad?" Ruby repeated, still looking away. "There's been a _ghastly_, _sickening_, _nauseating_ cult-like murder on campus… and all you can say about it is that it _smells bad_?"

Akuha gave a relaxed nod. "Pretty much. I've seen far worse before."

Ruby made a grossed-out look. "I don't even want to know!"

Akuha looked back at the body. There was nothing anyone could do for him now. What _could_ be done is to make sure something like this wouldn't happen again. "Perhaps the doppelganger's gang of thugs was behind this? They and Kuyou's friends are probably still on campus."

Ruby shook her head. "I don't think even _serial killers_ are this twisted. This is a whole 'nother league of sick-minded."

Akuha turned and started back at the school. "Well whatever the case, I'm not going to wait for them to make the next move."

Ruby followed after her. "What do you have in mind?"

"I want you to tell me about every basement, every passageway, and every abandoned building. I'm going to search every possible area where these sickos could be hiding." Despite the seriousness of the situation, Akuha felt excited. Being a security guard at Yōkai Academy turned out to be more interesting than her last few years as an assassin.

XXX

**School Hallways**

Kuzu wandered alone in the hallways, feeling around with his cane to avoid bumping into any walls. Not long ago, a mysterious girl had cleaned off his cane and given it back to him. She never told him her name, and she spoke with loads of big words that he would need a dictionary to interpret. Nonetheless, he could still piece together some of what she asked him. Did he want power? What would he do if he had it?

"_You are like Bartimaeus, the blind man_." The girl had said to him. "_Dejected, downcast, desperate, and yet… bold, persistent, hopeful, sincere_."

Kuzu didn't know who Bartimaeus was, but he sounded like a character from mythology or a famous story. When Kuzu tried to ask the girl who she was, she had vanished as quickly as she appeared. What a strange encounter.

"_Do you hate them_?" Kuzu remembered her asking him.

With his other hand in his pocket, Kuzu brought out the object that the strange girl had given to him. It felt like some kind of injector or syringe. Sounds of the girl's playful giggling echoed from the back of his head.

XXX

**Dormitories**

Irena giggled quite loudly. "You wish to know what yōkai am I?" she asked, reacting to Ginei's question. The two of them were walking side-by-side along the hallways of one of the campus dorm buildings. "I was under the impression we weren't allowed to shed light on that."

"Kind-of sort-of." Ginei said, "It's against school rules to transform on school grounds, but there's nothing really wrong with just sharing our identities." He smiled at her. "So how about we keep this between you and me?"

Irena stared at Ginei for a moment. "Very well." She blinked and looked forward again. "I belong to a very rare species know as… Lecorjamasi."

"Wait…" Ginei thought that sounded familiar. "You're winged humanoids right? A Female-only race that mates with males of other races."

Irena lifted an eyebrow. "From whom did you hear that?" They stopped in front of the door to her room and faced each other. "I was also under the impression that roughly no one has heard of us."

"Uh…" Ginei searched through his memories. "I remember during my freshman year, the former president of the newspaper club told me. Lecorjamasi are distant relatives of her race."

Irena took a cross-legged stance. "Was she a Siren?"

"She _was_ actually." Ginei thought about Sun for a moment. He completely lost touch with her after she graduated, and she didn't seem to have anywhere to go.

"Well," Irena said as she opened the door to her room, "now it's your turn. What kind of yōkai are _you_?"

Ginei scratched his head, trying to look modest. "I happened to be the all-powerful werewolf!" He cheerfully said, hoping Irena would be impressed.

For the first time, Irena's smile seemed to have faded.

"Is there something wrong? I hope nothing bad happened between our races."

Irena put her hand up. "It's nothing like that Gin," she said, "I've just always been more of a cat person." She smirked as her blissful expression returned. "As a matter of fact, I'm keeping a cat in my dorm room right now." She walked into her room.

"Well don't worry then." Ginei said with a tense grin. "I'm great with cats."

Irena looked back at him with a devious look. "Are you really?"

Ginei studied Irena's room from the open doorway. It was a bit larger than most other dorms, probably because the owner came from a rich family. At the center of the room was a coffee table with a chess-set on it, positioned between two cushioned armchairs. Straight-ahead was a large window with its curtains drawn, a bed was sitting on the far right side of the room, and to the left were a dresser, a mirror, and a harp. "Seems a little plain," Ginei thought, "I guess she hasn't had time for decorating yet."

"Well?" Irena said from near the coffee table, "How long do you plan to linger there?"

"Oh…" Ginei mumbled, "You're okay with me coming into your room? Just the two of us… alone… with the door closed?"

"Why of course." Irena turned her side towards him, bent a knee forward, and put a hand to her hip. It looked like she was making an intentional 'sexy pose'. "I can't imagine anything _bad_ coming from this." she teased sarcastically.

"You don't think I might… try something?"

Irena tilted her head a little. "Would you?"

Ginei thought about his answer. Sure he was perverted, but trying to grope Irena would probably chase her off. Unlike the other girls, she seemed to like him, and didn't have a crush on an average-looking guy whose name started with a T. Maybe it was better to take things slow. "No, I wouldn't." Ginei said, deciding he shouldn't blow his chance. He probably would never find another girl quite like this. "Like I said, I'm not a dirty guy." He walked in and closed the door.

Irena walked over to one of the chairs and looked down at it. Resting there was a snow-white fluffy cat curled into a ball. "Here's that good-for-nothing I told you about." she jokingly said, "Her name's Ivory."

Ivory woke up, looking at them with her blue eyes. She meowed as Irena picked her up. She seemed comfortable in Irena's arms.

Ginei approached them. "Ivory eh?" He tried to pet Ivory, but she hissed and lightly bit his finger.

"Oh dear." Irena cried softly. She quickly took a seat and let Ivory lay on her lap. "Sorry, she isn't used to strangers."

Ginei whipped his hand a little. "I can see that now." He sat down on the other chair.

Irena looked down at Ivory and stroked him on the head. "Some cats adore belonging to someone. In many ways, the cat owns _you_." Ivory purred loudly on her lap. "Providing her with food, shelter, and maybe a few toys, merely so that she'll allow you to pet and comfort her."

"Sounds like a girlfriend." Ginei thought.

"Cats are smart, don't you agree? Letting humans and yōkai alike take them in as pets. They live such easy lives this way."

Ginei thought of how to keep the conversation going. He didn't want to blow things so soon. "I remember one of my relatives has a cat. One time while I was visiting, my dad poured some of his beer into the cat's bowl." He chuckled a little. "After one lick the cat went _straight up_."

Irena laughed quite loudly with him.

"Anyways," Ginei said, putting his lady-killer smile on, "What kind of school did you attend prior to this one?"

Irena paused. "I went to a human school," she giggled, "and despite what you may expect, I rather enjoyed myself while it lasted."

Ginei felt curious. Yōkai almost always disliked humans, similar to how Moka was after attending a human middle school. "You don't mind humans?"

"Are you trying to imply that they're any different?"

Ginei shrugged. "Well they don't seem the same to me."

Irena played with a strand of her hair with her finger. "Does having wings, fur, or scales make us so different? Both humans and yōkai alike can feel love, grief, and can fight for what they believe in. These and many more qualities are what separate them from mere animals." She went back to petting Ivory. "To me, they're no different. In fact I'm quite fascinated with how much humans have accomplished with what little strength they have."

"Yeah, cause there's so many of them."

Irena laughed as if she'd heard a joke. "You think that numbers are the _only_ reason why they're so successful? Discoveries, inventions, advancements… it is not sheer quantities, but remarkable individuals that have made it all possible for their people." Ivory got off of her lap and strode away. "Just my opinion."

Ginei couldn't help but notice how passionate Irena sounded. "I'm getting the impression that you don't just respect humans. You really like them too."

"Oh yes, I'm quite fond of them." Irena curled a leg over her other knee. "My own father was human… and my mother loved him."

Ginei paused at that. "Her father was a human?" he thought, "That explains a lot… and raises some questions."

"Lecorjamasi keep a common appearance," Irena said, "but our strength, abilities, and even level of intelligence are determined entirely by our fathers. If my father were a vampire, I would be as strong as one. If my father were an incubus, I would have the succubus's charm ability."

Ginei was aware how well Lecorjamasi copied their fathers. Because of this, their abilities were some of the most varied of all yōkai. "And if your father was a werewolf, then you'd be just as fast."

"Indeed…" Irena shrugged. "But of all the beings my mother met… Sirens, Youkos, and even a vampire, the most remarkable was one amazing human."

"Must have been quite an interesting guy then." Ginei said with an impressed nod. "Was he a good father?"

Irena blushed and made a kind smile. "He was a _great_ father." she said warmly.

XXX

**Newspaper Clubroom**

The sun was setting outside, and all the students had already returned to their dormitories. As the clubroom was empty, Akuha and Ruby decided to use it for planning their next move. The map of the entire campus pinned to the wall complemented such uses.

"Alrighty then," Ruby said as she pulled a red pin off the large map in front of her, "that covers both the west and south sides." To keep track of the places they searched, Ruby had red pins on all the places of the map that Akuha would search through. After confirming an area to be clear, Ruby would remove the pin that marked the spot.

"How many more places do I have to search?" Akuha asked irritably.

"This was your idea." Ruby looked from pin to pin.

Akuha took a seat at the table. "I didn't think there could so many hiding places in such a small area." She sighed. "How hard could it be to find eight people?"

Ruby pulled her attention from the map. "Couldn't you use your ability to sense energy?"

"Not really." Akuha rested her chin on the table. "There's nothing special about them, so they would feel no different from another student."

Ruby looked back at the map. Exactly every building the Student Police Force had once used was empty. "Akuha?"

Akuha still had her face on the table. "What?" she said in a muffled voice.

"You think there could be a secret underground room in one of the former Student Police buildings?"

Akuha sat up. "If there is, there's no one in them. I would have felt their energy."

Ruby shrugged. "You're the secret-agent girl, so I'll take your word for it." She looked back at the map and scanned a few more of the old buildings. She recalled one of them being the place where Tsukune had fought Midou and became a ghoul for the first time. Thank goodness she and the headmaster had arrived to save him in time.

"Hey," Akuha pointed at the northeastern part of the map, "What's that place?"

"Oh that? That used to be a dungeon for containing crazy students. We don't use it anymore though." Ruby looked back at Akuha and noticed she was already in front of the door. "Going to check it out?"

Akuha didn't even look back at her. "Of all the places I haven't checked, that's the most likely for them to be in." She left out the door. "I don't want to be doing this all night."

Ruby looked back at the map. "I _know_ you'll be back before five minutes. See you again soon."

Akuha slammed the door behind her and made a gigantic leap forward, seemingly flying a significant distance to the top of another building.

XXX

**Formal Dungeon Building**

Akuha found the place after no time at all. "This place has seen better days…" The entire building was far into ruin, so much that it resembled a medieval keep abandoned for thousands of years. Maybe it was. Akuha didn't know how old this building could be. "They'd better be hiding here. I'm starting to lose interest." She leapt up high again, rapidly climbing the ruined structure. The entire rooftop, if not the top two or three floors, were completely missing, and so entering without opening a rusty door wasn't a problem.

Once inside the structure, Akuha slowed her pace. She began to move quietly, just like she often did on her assassination jobs. By the time she worked down to the second floor, she noticed a few lights from the crevices below her. "Found 'em." she mumbled. She looked through one of the cracks and saw what looked like people sitting against the walls of the room below her. They didn't seem to be moving much or making any noise.

Akuha readied herself, and thought of how she would approach them. Secrecy wouldn't matter if she were _this_ close. Her prey wouldn't be able to run from a vampire. Surprise!" She shouted, stomping through the floor and plunging into the room below. After spending so much time with the others, she was starting to develop a sense of humor.

"Uh!" Her eyes went wide as she landed and looked around. There were a lot of red candles illuminating the room, and smeared all over the place was… "Blood! There's blood everywhere!" The entire room from top to bottom was painted red. Mutilated corpses of thugs and Student Police force members sat around the entire room. Their blood smelt stale and nauseating rather than fresh and appetizing, suggesting it had been spilt a while ago, and not just less tasty monster blood.

Akuha looked closely at one of the bodies. It was cut open with hand-shaped outlines.

XXX

To be continued in next chapter…

* * *

**I'm won't even try to hide it: That's Talia using a different name. Ginei just isn't supposed to know that.**

Legend96 said: "What happened to the comments that had to do with writers block?"

**Kind of turning into spam, not that I dis-encourage it. I still read and take them into account before deleting them. The comments just aren't relevant to the story itself, that's all.**


	26. Chpt 26: D'aimer

Awesomeness said: "Just want to know who is your new beta reader?"

**Dante of the West. Great guy by the way, and creator of one of the two Rosario + Vampire abridged series on youtube.**

* * *

**3 Weeks Later – Yōkai Academy**

In spite of the school's efforts to keep a lid on the murders, gossip slowly made it's way around. Students began to wonder about the restricted areas out in the forest, as well as question the necessity of a new temporary rule, requiring all students to never leave the school buildings without supervision. It wasn't much longer before word of the mutilated bodies leaked out. It was never publicly announced, but steady talk of it made the student body feel more and more uneasy.

In some ways, Akuha thought it was better to keep the students ignorant. Telling them would simply cause a panic, and they may calm down in belief that the killer was already caught. No murders had happened for six days now, as strange as it seemed.

Every square inch that the school's barrier covered was searched many times, and nothing strange was ever found. No one hiding, no energy spikes, nothing but more corpses with hand-shaped holes all over them. It seemed like any investigation the school's staff made would always turn up with no results. It was like there was no killer at all.

Seeing that aimlessly searching around wasn't getting them anywhere, the staff and authorities decided that they would instead study the bodies and let Akuha know if they found anything. With Ruby and the staff busy on yet another investigation, Akuha had very little to do while she waited.

"Hogetsu Jigen-Tou!" Akuha shouted as an ominous cutting force released an inch front of her hand as she chopped. She was practicing her most lethal technique, the Moon Crushing Dimensional Sword, out in the same grassy plain where she and Tsukune had their picnic. It was dark and cloudy today, but nonetheless she was getting attached to this field. It was her personal, quiet place to relax and train.

"Hogetsu Jigen-Tou!" Akuha shouted again. This time the cutting force swept a foot in front of her. "Damn it!" No matter how hard she kept trying, she could never pull off a ranged one like she did on the blimp a month ago. Even while that wasn't perfect, it still reached considerably far. "Maybe it was the heat of the moment?" she wondered.

"You're pushing yourself too hard." Tsukune said from the grassy hill he sat alone on. "Couldn't you take a break for a moment?"

"No, pushing myself is how I got so good in martial arts in the first place." Akuha raised both arms above her head. "That's Kung Fu for you; achieved through hard work." She began to drop her shoulders and swing her arms with one in front of her and one behind, alternating them quickly and pausing briefly between each cycle.

Tsukune looked at Akuha curiously. The way she alternated her arms back and forth looked a bit funny. "Uh, Akuha? What're you doing?"

"When you punch, your muscles tense up to prevent any strain. This however slows the movements of the arms." Akuha continued swinging her arms, relaxing them each time they make their rotation. "Swinging them like this helps loosen them up, allowing me to punch again much quicker."

Tsukune couldn't help but feel impressed, not with the arm movements, but with the endless amounts of knowledge Akuha seemed to have in martial arts. He had seen her fight on many occasions, and she had spoken to him about many different techniques, but no matter how much she shared, she always seemed to have more up her sleeve. "You sure know this stuff. How long have you been practicing martial arts?"

Akuha smoothly lowered her arms and relaxed her entire body. "I lost track," she said with her eyes closed, "fifteen years, give-or-take."

"Fifteen years?" Tsukune's eyes widened. "You've been training since I was a toddler!"

Akuha made a single punch forward. The force of it was so strong, that it shook a few dead trees a distance away. There was more than just her vampire strength at work, but also good technique that had been passed down for countless generations. "Tsuk, I just had a thought."

"Speak your mind."

"Would you like to learn martial arts?" Akuha asked.

"Guah!" Tsukune looked much more surprised than she expected. "You mean you want to teach me?"

"Sure." Akuha looked at him and returned to a casual expression. "I've given Moka a few minor lessons, but besides that I've never had a chance to pass on what I know."

Tsukune scratched his head. "Sorry, but like I said before, I don't like to think about fighting."

Akuha stared at him. "But you _did_ admit you come across trouble quite often, and I've certainly seen it to be true."

Tsukune always wanted to protect his friends, especially Moka. "You got a point there." he said. "Martial arts is self-defense after all."

Akuha made a worried frown. "Uh…" She always thought of 'martial arts' as 'killing arts'. "It's… open to interpretation."

Tsukune thought about it for a moment. "No thanks." He shook his head. "I appreciate the offer, but I've already got enough to study here at school. Atop of that, my mom said she would enroll me in sex education when I get back."

"Wait… 'what' education?" Akuha thought. "Never mind, I don't think I want to know."

"Besides, I think we're just fine as we are." Tsukune said obligingly, "The others and I handled ourselves just fine in the past, and now we have _you_ around. We don't need to worry about that kind of stuff."

XXX

**Moka's Dormitory**

Moka poured some boiling-hot water from a kettle into a tomato and noodle cup. "Ah…" she murmured softly, "my favorite tomato flavor." Ever since being moved here at the age of 10, she almost never had any blood to drink, and so the red color of tomato juice caught her eye. Sure it wasn't a substitute for blood, but she became well adjusted to the taste before she knew any better, and just stuck with drinking it.

"Hey!" Inner Moka, her other personality, yelled from the back of her mind, "You're having noodles for dinner?"

"Yeah, is there a problem?" Moka said, taking in more noodles with her chopsticks.

"Of course there's a problem!" Inner Moka's voice rang, "You need something with more nutrition! What will you do if your skin starts to go dry?" She and Outer Moka shared the same body, so it was natural she would be concerned with her health. "Take in more vitamins, fiber, and stay away from carbohydrates! You're gonna end up with edema if you keep-"

"Aww be quiet." Moka said as she lost herself in the taste of tomatoes.

"I'm not letting you ignore your own health." If Inner Moka had any physical presence, she would be putting her palm to her face. "If only I wasn't sealed up like this."

"Sealed up?" Moka came up with an idea. "I got it!" she said with her index finger raised, "For the entire day tomorrow, you can use our body! I'll tell Tsukune to remove the seal!"

Inner Moka's voice hesitated to answer. "The… entire day?"

"Yeah! It sounds like a great idea, and I've been feeling so tired recently."

"But who knows what'll happen to the seal! It's too dangerous!"

Moka put down her chopsticks down. "Ura-chan, aren't you curious as to what high-school life is like? I mean, you've never experienced it yourself."

"Well…"

"How about this?" Moka said enthusiastically, "Let's ask Ruby and the Headmaster about our seal. They have a lot of nice spells. Who knows, maybe they've got a solution for this."

XXX

**Night Time – Irena's Dormitory**

Coming by to visit became a daily routine for Ginei, and he had gotten to know Irena quite well by now. Apparently she was experienced in ballet, ballroom dancing, and classical music, and so she had joined the music club, much to Ginei's disappointment. Considering Irena's perfect curves and long legs, Ginei would much rather have preferred seeing her join the swim or fashion club, though he kept quiet about that. The day after meeting her, Irena had sat at the harp in her room and played him a song, getting Ginei to quickly reconsider. The melody she played was beautiful, gentle, and very relaxing.

(_Youtube "__**Lost Odyssey OST - Eclipse of Time (Harp Version)**__" and listen while you read. A relaxing tune like this is what I'd imagine Talia playing. Important that you don't get the vocal version… it's ugly._)

"I've been playing the harp for centuries." Irena had told him, obviously exaggerating. She was very fluent with stringed instruments, and claimed to have skill with the violin as well. She wasn't any good with woodwinds or other types of instruments though. She explained that she came from a family of respected musicians. In fact her father had joined a professional choir at the age of six.

"That's pretty impressive." Ginei said with his lady-killer smile. The dorm had all it's lights off, save for a group of lit candles on Irena's dresser. The stars and bright crescent moon illuminated the room quite well through the open window though. Irena seemed to like the calm, peaceful feeling that the night sky gave her. "She talks a lot about her father," Ginei thought, "but… she hardly mentions her mother."

Irena pulled over a small, backless chair and sat down before the mirror in her room. "I wonder…" she murmured, staring down at a hairbrush in her hand, "The skirts that these school uniforms come with. Why do they flip up so easily?" She shrugged and began to comb her hair. As she moved the brush down, Ginei lightly placed his hand onto hers.

"A true gentleman offers to comb a lady's hair for her." Ginei said, watching their reflections on the mirror that stared back at them.

Irena looked over her shoulder and up at Ginei. "Not just anyone can touch a lady's hair. Only those that she trusts are allowed."

Ginei tried to look as compassionate as he could. It wasn't easy to control himself around such a pretty girl. "Do you trust me?"

Irena looked into his eyes, blinked, and placed the handle of her hairbrush onto his hand. "I trust you." She looked back at the mirror as Ginei started to comb her long, white hair.

"You know," Ginei whispered, "you've never told me much about your mother."

"Oh?" Irena glanced downward and frowned. "My mother died of childbirth when she had me. All I know about her is what father told me."

"Sorry to hear that." Ginei said.

"It's alright." Irena folded her hands together on her lap. "She lived a happy life and had no regrets. _I_ only regret that I could never see her face."

"How'd your dad describe her?"

Irena took a moment to recall what little she knew. "She was a sweet, kindhearted woman with a _very_ rebellious spirit." She turned her eyes towards her bed, which Ivory happened to be sleeping on. "My father used to tell me lots of bedtime stories about her."

Ginei stroked the hairbrush through her hair again. "You remember any of them? I'd like to hear one."

Irena giggled. "I don't remember any of them word-for-word, but… I do remember what they told me _about_ mother." Her expression calmed and became less playful, looking more passionate. "She didn't seek fulfillment in fleeting material possessions, but instead found joy in seemingly small interactions with others. Travelers on the road, a family at an inn, a decorated general… My mother had a reverence for life's simple pleasures, and had a deep, protective instinct towards anyone close to her."

Ginei came to a complete pause at that. "You sure got a fancy way of putting things."

"Acquired from my mother." Irena said. "Or so I've been told." Her father was smart, but her mother poetic.

Ginei went back to combing Irena's hair. "This girl's a keeper." he thought. Like Moka, Irena was smart and beautiful, but unlike Moka, she was also wise and _very_ philosophical. Maybe a little _too_ thoughtful, but her playful and good-humored attitude more than made up for it. Ginei thought about saying the 'three magic words' to her, mostly just so she wouldn't consider anyone else.

Irena looked over her shoulder. "Hmm?" She made a naughty expression. "Something on your mind Gin?"

Ginei looked down at her as she looked up at him, each staring into each other's eyes. In the background was the moon shining between them. Much to Ginei's fortune, the scenery was working in his favor. "Irena…" He brought his head closer and smiled. "We've been spending time together for a while and…" He completely lost his composure. "I really love ya baby!" he shouted as he brought a thump up.

Irena grinned a snickered a little.

"Is that really something to laugh about?" Ginei asked her, "Or are you laughing out of joy?"

Irena faced the mirror and looked downward again. "We've only known each other for three weeks now, and yet you're already confessing love for me."

"That doesn't mean I can't love you. Ever heard of 'love at first sight?"

"Sorry Gin, but isn't that '_attraction_ at first sight? Love and infatuation are as different as night and day." Irena looked up at Ginei's reflection in the mirror. "You're not just saying you love me because I'm pretty right?"

"Why of course not," Ginei said with his arms raised, "that'd just be so insensible." His face cringed a little.

Irena just stared at him for a while, not looking convinced. "I'll just…" She giggled again. "I'll just take your word for it." She faced forward again and stood up.

Ginei looked down Irena's back, slowly examining her long mane of white hair, her deep curves, and her long smooth legs. True, he was solely interested in the way she looked, and there was still so much he didn't know about her. "You know," he began, "after all these chats we've had, I'm starting to wonder how real love is."

Irena faced towards him. "Excuse me?" she said with an eyebrow lifted, "'How real love is?"

"Uh…" Ginei didn't understand his own words either, but he knew what he was trying to say. He thought about Sun, and then about Moka. He thought he loved the both of them, but was it really just attraction… or even… lust? "I thought I'd be the last one to say this, but I'm starting to think it's all just instinct and impulses."

Irena stared at him blankly for a moment, before turning and walking over to her dresser. She picked up one of the lit candlestick and held it with both hands near her chest. "Gin," she said as she turned to face him again, "which is more real? Love, which you cannot feel nor touch…" She looked down at the candle she held. "Or this candlelight, which can light a room or burn your hand?"

Ginei just stared at her, not sure where she was going with this.

Irena blew out the candle below her. "Is the candlelight real now?"

Ginei hesitated to answer. "I… guess it isn't anymore."

"Was it real before I lit it?"

"No."

Irena put the candlestick back onto her drawer. "Is love real right now?"

Ginei nodded. "Yes."

Irena tilted her head to the right. "Was it real a thousand years ago?"

"It was."

Irena tilted her head to the left. "And will it still be tomorrow?"

Ginei just shrugged.

"Which is more real, Gin?" Irena held up one hand. "A candlelight, which only exists for a brief time." She held up her other hand, making a shrugging expression. "Or love, which has existed as long as we… _and humans_ have been around to understand it?"

"Love." Ginei made a warm smile, understanding what Irena meant. "It's eternal, and that's part of what makes it so real."

"It'll always be as real as we are." Irena said graciously. She turned her waist towards the window and looked out at the gorgeous night sky. "It is invisible, and cannot be observed or measured, yet… it's so powerful. It can transform you in a moment, and offers more joy than any material possession." She faced Ginei again and lightly grasped her diamond necklace, bending a knee forward. "D'aimer et d'être aimé… that is truly something beautiful."

Ginei approached her and slowly placed his hands onto her shoulders. "Yeah, love is _one_ of the most beautiful things I've seen to date." He slid his hands down and wrapped them around her. He held her against himself and hugged her.

Irena closed her eyes and slowly hugged Ginei back, putting her arms around him and resting her chin over his shoulder. "D'aimer et d'être aimé…" she whispered quietly to herself, "To love and be loved."

XXX

**The Next Morning – Grassy Plain**

Near a corner of Akuha's private training ground, a tall stone, much like a toy chest stationed upright on its side, sat close to where the trees started. On the very top of the rock was Akuha's right palm. She was holding herself upside-down with her eyes shut, her left arm out to the side and both legs straight, half-spread apart. The wind blew across both her pigtails that hung down. She was half-asleep, and as motionless as the rock itself.

"Gah!" Akuha suddenly felt a pebble hit her stomach. "Ooph!" She felt off the rock and flat on her back.

"I still remember you used to do this a lot back home." A deep, but womanly voice said.

Still lying on the ground, Akuha opened her eyes at the sight of the gray sky. Inner Moka suddenly came into view, leaning over and looking straight down at her.

"Hey Nee-sama." Inner Moka said.

"Moka!" Akuha lunged off the ground and flew up, turning around mid-air and landing both feet onto the rock, facing her little sister. "How'd you…" She noticed that Moka still had her rosary attached.

Moka bent her left leg up and glanced at it. "I got my hands on this." What looked to be some kind of whip was wrapped around her upper leg. Only half of it dropped below her skirt. The hilt of the whip was wrapped under the long cord. "It's called 'Belmont', a whip meant to cancel out magic." She dropped her leg back down.

Akuha smiled. "And it canceled the effects of your seal without damaging it."

Moka nodded. "I was allowed to borrow it until the end of today, courtesy of the Headmaster."

Akuha dropped down and stood up straight. "So, the real you will be awakened for the whole day?" The both of them stared at the other for a moment. "That's just fantastic…" They both smiled, almost sadistically, knowing what was on the other's mind.

"Hey Nee-sama…" Moka looked around the grassy field, an open plain surrounded by dead trees. "Doesn't this place remind you of our sparring ground near the Shuzen Household?"

Akuha couldn't help but agree. Now that someone mentioned it, this place _did_ resemble the spot both of them sparred at seven years ago. While there was no grass there, the hill in the middle of the plain was still quite similar.

"Whaddya' say we spar one more time," Moka asked her, "for the good ol' days?"

"Heh," Akuha patted the dirt off her clothes. "I didn't think you'd have the guts to ask me." She eyed the pebble Moka had thrown at her earlier, and tapped it straight up with the front of her boot. "You know, considering your win-lose record with me." She grabbed the rock as it rose to eye level and threw it at Moka.

Moka opened her palm in front of her face and caught the stone. "That dear sister is talk of when I was nine. Since then I've grown up and gotten _much_ stronger." She dropped the pebble aside.

"Well c'mon then Moka." Akuha spread her arms out for her signature Chinese Kenpō stance. "Show me!"

Moka didn't make much of a fighting stance, and instead just readied herself. "No problem!"

The wind picked up, and invisible waves brushed over the short grass around them. Both Akuha's short hair and Moka's long hair blew to the side, neither of them moving a muscle.

Moka made the first move… she charged straight at Akuha with the same high-kick she always used for fights.

Akuha leapt straight above and over Moka. "Those exact same kicks?" She was all too familiar with the way her sister fought.

Moka moved her raised leg backwards and kicked up at Akuha behind her. Much to her surprise, Akuha somehow side-kicked her ankle while upside-down in mid-air, throwing Moka to the ground hard.

Akuha however landed like a soft feather. "Head-on attacks like that won't cut it, Moka!" She brought her arms up for a Muay Thai stance. "You're not fighting some school delinquent this time!"

Moka studied her sister. She had never seen her take such a stance before. "I'm just getting warmed up, Nee-sama." She flipped off the ground for a kick from the air.

Akuha made an upward elbow strike at Moka's heel, causing her to flip backwards. Moka landed on both hands and swung both legs under her arms and around herself, similar to how a break-dancer would perform flares, though they didn't hit. She leapt back onto her feet and began a flurry of kicks and spear-handed jabs. Akuha stood her ground, standing completely still, save for her arms that flailed around like a thousand blurs. Every attack that came her way was deflected immediately, either pushed off course or blocked by an open palm.

Moka jumped back to catch her breath. She had just noticed it, but her Akuha's palms were moving to block her attacks before she even _started_ them. "You must know my fighting style _really_ well to keep blocking me like this."

Akuha relaxed herself. "Actually, there's a lot more to it than that." She took another stance that Moka didn't recognize. "There's a lot of aspects to cover across all my martial arts styles, but the one I've rehearsed the most is 'understanding the mind'."

Inner Moka always had an interest in anything martial arts-related, even if her other personality didn't. "You mean like countering a person's reflexes?" she asked, "You used that in your fight with the doppelganger."

"That was a small part of it, yeah." Akuha scratched at a small itch on the side of her head. "You see, by understanding how the mind generally works, I can predict, trick, and even manipulate it." She started to ramble on, unable to help herself after an eternity of training. "Analyzing the rhythm of an opponent's movements, creating an opening by misleading their reflexes, or for an obvious one, pissing them off to keep them from focusing."

Moka was no long breathing as heavily. "You didn't use anything like that when we sparred seven years ago."

"I've learned a lot over the last seven years." Akuha said. She frowned to herself in realization. Already the better fighter from the start, she had gotten _so much_ better since they last sparred. While busy honing her skills, her sister had been completely sealed away. Moka just didn't have any moves besides the same ones she used when she was nine.

"You still doze off like you used to, Nee-sama!" Moka yelled as she broke into a charge.

"She's far too aggressive." Akuha thought. She punched both fists forward, one high and one low, and rammed them into Moka's stomach and face, bouncing the force of her charge back. Akuha then head-butted Moka in the stomach while grabbing her lower leg.

Moka felt her leg being thrown up like a caber in caber tossing, causing her upper body to fall backwards to the ground.

"Ooph!" Moka landed flat on her back. The technique was meant to have the victim land on the back of his or her head, but Akuha didn't want to do any permanent harm to her. "Damn," Moka said, noticing a fist stopped an inch from her face, "you _are_ good Nee-Sama."

"You're not bad…"Akuha retracted her fist back and helped Moka up. "Just a little rusty." She noticed that Moka's movements were stiffer than she remembered. While still flexible, and a bit stronger from having matured, her joints weren't loosened up.

"Yeah…" Moka made a sigh, disappointed in herself. She had been fighting vastly weaker yōkai for too long. "I guess so."

The both of them moved to the rock Akuha had been handstanding on earlier. Moka sat down on it, hanging her legs down to the ground. A third of the way around the rock, Akuha sat below with her back resting against the side of it. Another breeze settled across the grassy plain.

Moka looked across the plain, again being reminded of their sparing ground back home. "Nee-sama, why did mother send me away?"

"Huh?" Akuha was taken aback back by the sudden question. "What makes you think I know?"

Moka crossed her arms and shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you would at least have an idea."

Neither of them said anything, and just enjoyed the relaxing breeze.

"I remember," Moka said, "that neither you nor mother said goodbye at first. When I ran back for the rosary, I found the two of you talking about something. It seemed like it was important."

"Important?" Akuha had thought and rethought that day so many times. She had moved in for the kill… to murder Moka's own mother. "She regretted it," Akuha said, "regretted chasing you off like that."

Moka turned her head towards her. "Then why?" she asked loudly.

Akuha thought about it. Akasha discovering the assassination plot couldn't be the sole purpose. The fact Moka was still forbidden to return, as well as the magical seal suggested that there was more to this. "I don't really know… she never told me." Perhaps… whatever made Akasha send her away was linked with Fairy Tale's obsession with her. "I know she wouldn't have done it without good reason."

"Good reason eh?" Moka looked back out into the field. "When I see her again, I'm gonna punch her and then hug her for hours."

Akuha could pretty well guess… no, _understand_ Akasha's actions. She wanted to protect Moka from something. "Love is beyond reason, Moka. She just wanted you to live happily, even if it had to be without her." She leaned forward and looked down at the grass. "Love is not self-seeking…"

XXX

**Academy Courtyard**

In one of the many courtyards along the perimeter of the school, Irena lay on her side on a bench, just in front of where the dead-tree forest began. Apparently she was asleep, half curled in a ball. The rest of the courtyard was mostly empty, save for three males students that began to approach.

"Hey, check that out!" One of the boys pointed at Irena as she lay on the bench. All three of boys looked snobbish, much like stereotypical rebellious kids.

"Man, she's pretty," said another boy, "she so cute while she's asleep."

Irena opened her eyes. Still lying on her side, she brought her upper body up, putting her elbow down to support herself.

Mischievous looks of desire ringed through each of the student's eyes. "What's such a pretty girl doing _all alone_ out here?" The three of them chucked.

Irena didn't speak a word, and just got off the bench and stood up. She didn't look interested.

One of the boys stroked his hair. "So, got a name?"

Irena just gave them the cold shoulder and began to walk away.

"Hey, don't be like that, baby!" The boy reached after her, attempting to grab her skirt.

Irena turned and smacked the boy's hand. "Bythuss," she suddenly said, "be sure not to make a mess this time." She continued off.

The boys each stared at her, confused at what she just said.

"What did she-" He was silenced as a skeletal hand plunged through the back of his head and out his open mouth. The hand was covered in scarlet, scale-like armored plating. Along the hand's joints were small openings that revealed neon blue skin beneath the scale-like armor.

"Holy hell!" The other students screamed and ran as fast as they could.

The impaled student was quickly pulled into the dead forest, leaving nothing left of him behind. The strange presence in the forest shifted its attention on the other two students. They were only halfway to the academy building before two tentacle-like arms grabbed them.

XXX

To be continued in next chapter…

* * *

**Sorry I took so long to get started on this one. I've been busy with college summer classes.**

**Looking back, the exchange between Ginei and Talia is why this is one of my favorite chapters.**

* * *

_Because of how long I took, I'll include a short extra story that has nothing to do with previous entries:_

Once upon a time there was a human being, and every one of his body part's argued over who should be in-charge.

"I should be in-charge because I'm the smartest!" said the brain.

"I should be in-charge because I know how to put up a speech!" said the mouth.

"I should be in-charge because I show lots of love." the heart explained dreamily.

Even the Kidneys threw a fit. "We should be in-charge because we keep everything clean!"

"Wait just a sec," said the hands, "we should be in-charge because we're the ones that do most of the work!"

The lot of them argued and argued to no end, until suddenly the asshole spoke up. "I say _**I**_ should be the leader, and I wont do my job until I am!"

Three long days went by. The body became so worn, in-pain, and filthy that the other body parts had no choice.

So that's why the asshole is always put in-charge. There are so many kinds of people out there, some that are smart, some that are charismatic, and some that are kindhearted, but in the end, there's only one kind that is _dirty_ enough to use such grotesque methods… the asshole.


	27. Chpt 27: Weak Spot

**I've long since suspected that those clumps of anonymous reviews are mostly from the same person. They always come later on, are isolated, and have same writing style.**

**If there's more you want to say after you've reviewed once or twice, just register an account and pm me. It would work wonders for keeping me focused without making spam.**

* * *

**Math Class**

"Incredible!" A student screamed in joy.

Almost the entire class looked at Moka with awe and admiration, both the boys _and_ the girls. Moka had vowed to go for the entire day in her true, unsealed form. She always stayed true to her word, and would even attend all her classes this way.

"I can't believe she solved such a hard math problem," said another student, "I thought only Yukari was that smart, and yet Moka solved it in her head!"

"She's perfect!" yelled someone in the front row.

"Surely she's _miss_ perfect!" shouted someone in the back.

Kurumu grumbled in her seat. All the attention Moka was getting, or more-attention-than-usual, was starting to bug her. It was her first chance to see Inner Moka acting during every-day life, and so she planned on using it to find a weakness or flaw she had. It would give a good edge in winning Tsukune's affection over her. The problem was, Moka had shown herself to be nothing but perfect after every class so far.

"No one can be _that_ perfect." Mizore said from the seat next to Kurumu, "Just wait, we'll spot something if we're patient."

Moka stroked some of her silver hair to the side. The classroom practically applauded.

Kurumu made a lighthearted crying face. "Sheesh, she's popular with the girls too?"

XXX

It was finally noontime, lunchtime. The five of them, Tsukune, Moka, Kurumu, Yukari, and Mizore, each walked together across the campus. The gray clouds had mostly cleared away by now, and the bright sun and light-blue sky shined through the pillowy clouds that remained.

"Hey Tsukune," Kurumu said as she looked up, "Isn't it beautiful tod-"

"Look! Look!" Yukari pointed and shouted, "The results of the mid-term exams are out!" She hurried to a number of bulletin boards in the courtyard, showing the recent tests results for all the students in the school.

Tsukune walked after her. "Wait, where did I rank this time?"

The rest of the gang tagged along, leaving Kurumu behind. "Oh well…" She sighed and followed after them.

Tsukune barley made the top 150, though still a great improvement over last year. Kurumu and Mizore scored similarly low, and Moka was ranked third in the school like on their freshman year.

"Waaahhhhh!" Yukari began to cry, not sadly, but very upset.

Tsukune tried to calm her down. "What's wrong, Yukari?"

Yukari swung an arm up and down towards the bulletin board. "I got second this time!" she cried.

Kurumu made an 'Eeeep' noise. Everyone knew that Yukari _always_ got first place on _every_ test given in the school. Someone else scoring higher was just unthinking. "Who? Who could've beaten you?"

Moka glanced at the bulletin board without leaning over. "It's some girl named…" She needed a moment to spell out the foreign name. "Irena de Kermeur."

"Is that a British name?" Mizore asked, "Italian maybe?"

No one said anything for a while.

Tsukune shrugged. "Mmm… doesn't matter really." He started towards the cafeteria. "C'mon, standing here and thinking about it wont do us much good. Let's get something to eat."

XXX

**Cafeteria**

"Hey, take it outside!" Akuha yelled, sitting at a nearby table. In the middle of the room, two boys were already engaged in a fistfight in. The word 'fight' probably didn't do the situation much justice though; it was completely one-sided. One of the boys was fit, in-shape, and agile.

"Take…" The other boy tried to throw a punch. "_This_!" He was fat, couldn't stand up straight, and punched clumsily.

The stronger boy moved his head effortlessly. "This is a _damned joke_!"

Akuha rolled her eyes. "Aiya~" She grabbed a small cherry from a fruit bowl she was eating from. She couldn't understand why, but boys seemed to be snickering all around her. "Uh…" She rolled her eyes from side-to-side, wondering what they were so amused with. She cautiously slipped the cherry between her closed lips, pushing it in with her index finger.

A few boys applauded.

"What?" Akuha wondered to herself. There was a _fight_ going on, yet all the boy's attention was focused onto _her_? "Why do they always laugh whenever I'm eating cherries or grapes?"

WHACK! The fat boy took a nasty blow to the cheek.

The stronger boy dodged another punch. "Eh! That's the best you got?" He stepped around the fat boy and shoved him in the back. "You are _**pathetic**_!" The fat boy fell onto a cafeteria table and broke it in half.

"That's the last straw…" Akuha swallowed and stood up between the rows of tables. "Hey tough guy!"

The stronger boy turned to look. "What!" he shouted.

Akuha suddenly spat a cherry seed from her mouth, firing it like a bullet and hitting the boy right between the eyes. It hit him so hard that he actually fell over.

"Stay outta' this, b****!" The boy yelled as he got back up.

Akuha cocked an eyebrow. "B****?" She tapped a pair of chopsticks on a nearby table, causing them to fly up. She caught and held them as if she were about to eat from a rice bowl. "Mind repeating that?" She sprung the chopsticks forward and stuck the boy with a storm of pokes and jabs.

"Gah!" The boy fell on the floor again.

"Now that we've all calmed down…" Akuha sat backwards at one of the cafeteria tables, resting her back against it and curling one leg over the other. "How about telling me what this was about?"

The fit student sat up and rubbed his head. "Alright… alright…" He pointed a finger at the other boy. "Fat boy here took something important to me."

The fat boy rolled over. "I'm telling you, I didn't take your stupid coin!"

Akuha looked from the fit boy to the fat boy. "You seemed just as eager to fight as he was."

"He said something about my mom!"

Akuha chuckled. "Okay… so then what's with this 'all important coin' anyways?"

"It's a 800-year-old Japanese coin," the fit boy complained like a whiny child, "been passed down through my family for generations. I know it's a sappy thing to complain about but I've grown attached it."

Akuha stood back up and sighed. "Freshmen…" She suddenly detected a hand reaching for her shoulder from behind her. "Hraagh!" She elbowed the hand aside as she spun around and sprung the chopsticks forward, stopping them an inch from the person's neck.

"Please don't kill me!" Tsukune squeaked.

"Tsuk?" Akuha lowered her chopsticks. "Sorry, that was all instinct. What's up?"

Tsukune made a gesture to the tray of food he held. "Nothing, I was about to have lunch and I just noticed you." He looked back at the lunch line. The others were still waiting in line, though Kurumu waved 'hello' in high spirits.

Akuha looked over at the two boys that were fighting earlier. "Look, I'm a little busy at the moment." She moved over to the boys and grabbed them by their shirts. "I'll get back to you in a sec." She dragged them off with her.

Tsukune waved. "See you soon." He sat at one of the tables and ate alone. Over the next five minutes, his friends steadily joined him one by one. They made a bit a small talk to pass the time.

"It looks like…" Inner Moka began, "I was able to spend the whole morning without making a scene."

"That's always good," Tsukune said, "but I would've imagined you making more of this occasion. I mean it's only for today, right?"

Moka made a sideways nod and took another forkful of her pasta. "Yeah, but I don't want to give my other personality a hard time tomorrow. If I rub anyone the wrong way today, they'll come after me when I'm vulnerable."

"I see," Tsukune said gladly, "So you don't want to trouble Outer Moka. That's very kind of you, Inner Moka."

Moka smiled and tried to shake her head. "Don't be ridiculous. In the end, I'm just doing this for myself…"

Kurumu glared at Moka as she swallowed more beef. "That's quite a charm she's got," she thought privately, "the way she hides her generous side…"

"Hey, you alright Yukari?" Tsukune asked, "You've hardly touched your food."

Yukari didn't seem to hear him, and just stared at her food tray angrily. "When I find that French-girl I'll… I'll…"

"You'll do what?" Kurumu pointed at her. "Challenge her to a game of trivia?"

Yukari thought about it. "That doesn't sound half-bad."

The sound of footsteps started to approach them. "Hey Nee-sama." Moka said without looking.

"Hey." Akuha casually said. She sat where she had earlier where she left her fruit bowl, next to where Tsukune and Moka were sitting now.

"So, how goes the murder investigation?" Moka asked.

Akuha kept her voice down, not wanting to cause any panic. "Not good. We still can't find this guy, and three more students just vanished this morning."

Tsukune's smile faded. "Vanished?"

Akuha nodded. "It's getting _really_ hard to keep a lid on things now. People are starting to notice the disappearances."

"Could it be the doppelganger's buddies?" Mizore asked, taking a sip from her slushy. "The student police force could also be behind it. No one's seen them for a while."

Akuha made a grim face. "It isn't either of them. That's already been confirmed."

"Maybe it's…" Moka blinked and glared to the side. "Fairy Tale?"

"I suspected that too," Akuha said, her mouth half-full with an apple, "but the forest around the school has been checked many times. There's no one hiding out there."

Kurumu put a finger to her own cheek. "Ever thought that the killer is invisible? Maybe he can camouflage or morph into a tree?"

Akuha shrugged. "There's no one like that in Fairy Tale, wasn't during the last time I checked." The six of them ate without a word for a minute. "Look, there's a reason why the headmaster wanted me to keep quiet about this. Just let me and Ruby worry about it, _you_ five worry about your schoolwork."

Moka chewed and swallowed a meatball. "Fair enough…"

Akuha looked across the table and noticed Yukari's shocked expression. "Yukari?"

Yukari's eyes were wide. "Schoolwork…" she mumbled to herself, "Ah!" She leapt up. "I totally forgot about something!" She got up and ran off in a hurry.

The five of them that remained just stared.

"What's got her in such a panic?" Akuha chuckled. "She remember an extra-credit assignment?"

"Naw." Kurumu fanned her hand. "It's just some big essay due two periods from now." Her perky expression gradually grew to an uneasy one. "It's only worth half our grade, took a _long_ time to write, and…" She slowly got up. "I forgot mine too!" She hurried away as Yukari had, though not with the same urgency.

"This is why I was home-schooled." Akuha murmured. She picked up a grape from her fruit bowl and lightly placed it onto her tongue. "Hmm…" she groaned.

XXX

**Newspaper Clubroom**

Irena set her white bishop down with a quiet tap. "Checkmate," she grinned humorously, "again…"

From the other side of the table, Ginei frowned at the chessboard with an irritable look. "Damn it." He took another bite of the meatloaf he was eating. "Another game please."

Irena took a piece of her strawberry cake with her fork. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me, I want to try again."

"But I've already…" Irena's voice trailed off, apparently not wanting to upset Ginei. She had beaten him six times in a row, and yet he still wanted to keep playing.

"I can't understand this." Ginei stared at the chessboard. All he had left were two pawns and his king. Irena however had only lost one rook and half her pawns. Back at a friend's place, Ginei had played chess a few times to kill boredom. He knew how to play and actually wasn't bad at it, so it seemed like a good pastime while eating lunch. "Our first game lasted a while, but you've been beating me faster and faster each time. It took you only seven moves the game before this one."

Irena rested her elbows on the table and put her cheeks on her hands. "Well with each game, I can better understand your character. It gives me a closer insight on the way you think."

Ginei put a hand to his chin and smiled. "How about we put that to the test?" He winked and pointed at himself. "What can you tell about me from these chess games alone?"

"You prefer to avoid a major confrontation at all costs," Irena answered instantly, "but you go all-out if not given a choice."

Ginei stared at her, completely lost for words. "Uh… erm… but I got the 'avoid fighting' thing from my senpai."

"Interactions change people." Irena put her left arm down, tilting her head on her right hand. "I wouldn't be who I am now if not for the others I've met." She grinned mischievously to herself.

"Dang girl." Ginei went back to his meatloaf. "So, are you planning on majoring in psychology or something?"

Irena made an 'I-don't-know' motion. "Not sure… maybe."

Ginei devoured his food quickly. Werewolves went through meat quite fast after all. "Kay', feel like playing a third game? Doesn't take a smart French girl to know I don't give up easy."

Irena brushed aside her mane of hair. "No, I tire of these laidback games and conversations." She looked over at the window. It was a beautiful day outside.

"How about we try something a little more…" Ginei grinned devilishly, "_entertaining_?"

"Entertaining?" Irena looked back at him and made a naughty smile. "That sounds _unbearably_ shameful…" She said with a sarcastic 'panic' voice. "and yet…" She leaned across the table. "_intriguing_."

Ginei felt sweet begin to run down his face. "Sure you're okay with this? I mean your dad-" He noticed that Irena had swept the chessboard aside and had gotten onto the table. She was on all fours in a crawling position.

"My true form may resemble an angel," Irena said, her face an inch in front of Ginei's, "but I can be quite the _devil_ when I want to be."

Ginei had aimed for a kiss, but it seemed he would get a lot more than he bargained for. "I'm not complaining."

The clubroom door suddenly swooshed opened. In the doorway stood Kurumu and Yukari.

"Uh?" Kurumu came to a complete stop at what she saw. A girl she had never seen before was lying on the table, rolled onto her side and looking back at her curiously. She had a striking appearance and wore tight black leg-socks, making her stand out from the other students. "Gin, who's that?" Kurumu asked hastily.

Ginei had an annoyed look spread across his face. "Hey girls." he said weakly. He raised a hand towards Irena. "She's a new friend I made," he said with more energy, "her name's Irena."

"Irena?" Yukari made a hostile expression. "You mean Irena de Kamph…" She struggled to remember the name. "Klumpfer… Campfire… Kar…"

"Kermeur?" Irena moved off the table and stood up on the floor. "Yes, that would be me." She brought her hand forward and made a big, friendly smile. "It's a pleasure."

Kurumu shook her hand. "Pleasure is mine I guess." She learned forward and whispered in Irena's ear. "Not sure if you've noticed yet, but Gin is a _big_ prevent. I'd be careful around him."

"Mmm…" Irena gave a small nod, and giggled.

"So this is her?" Kurumu thought as she moved back, "I expected a nerd with enormous glasses, but she'd fit almost perfectly along with me, Moka, and the other girls."

Irena folded her arms behind her back. "You must be Kurumu and Yukari right? Gin's spoken of you both."

"Yeah…" Kurumu cautiously eyed the girl. "I can't risk Tsukune meeting her," she continued thinking to herself, "I have enough rivals as it is."

Irena eyed the little witch that looked at her angrily. "Oh?" She bent down at Yukari's eye-level and made a friendly look. "Is something the matter?"

"You bet there's a… uh… a matter?" Yukari pointed her finger. "_You_! You took my spot as number one on the mid-terms!"

"Oh don't fret." Irena said politely, "It only means you need to study harder. You'll take it back before long."

Yukari calmed herself down. "You bet I will."

Ginei cleared his throat loudly. "Anyways… I thought you two would be eating lunch with Tsukune."

"Tsukune?" Irena eyed back at Ginei with a look of interest. "Who would that be?"

"No one." Kurumu and Ginei nervously said at once.

"I don't want _another_ pretty girl in Tsukune's face." Kurumu thought.

"I don't want Tsukune blowing my chances with her." Ginei thought.

"Alright, alright," Irena said half-laughing, "if you don't wish to speak of him, you don't have to."

Yukari moved over to a shelf and grabbed one of two stabled essays. "We just forgot our research papers here."

"Yeah." Kurumu grabbed her essay as well. She didn't much feel like talking with Irena anymore. She didn't dislike Irena, but after Tsukune was mentioned it felt better to leave to keep the subject from being brought up again. "Alright, both of you take care." Kurumu and Yukari waved goodbye and left through the doorway.

"Uh, yeah…" Ginei starched his chin. "Where were we again?" he asked hopefully.

"I forget what it was." Irena kept her eyes on the open doorway. "Besides, it's nice out and we've finished eating. I'd rather not be netted under a roof all day." She started towards the door.

Ginei grabbed the scrap from his meal without looking, and threw it into a small trash bin nearby. His eyes were fixed onto Irena's _juicy_ butt as she walked away. "Just be patient Gin," he mumbled, "be patient. She'll come around."

XXX

**A While Later – Cooking Class**

Akuha came bursting through the door to the 'home economics' classroom. "What's going on? I heard that Kokoa -" Two men heaving a stretcher came charging at her.

"Excuse me!" One of the men cried.

Akuha moved out of the way to let them pass. Kokoa seemed to be lying on the stretcher, looking dizzy, confused, and like she was about to hurl. As she disappeared away, Akuha looked back to the classroom. "What the hell happened to her?"

Ruby pushed through the crowd of students and approached. She was dressed in a handmade maid outfit, apparently subbing for this class again. "She tried something _bad_." She turned and pointed towards something in the back of the room. "_**That**_…"

Akuha stared wide-eyed at the unearthly, ugly mess. There was a massive, dark-orange blob literally taking up more than half the room. A good amount seemed to be flooding out the windows. "Eww…" She fanned the stench from her noise. "It smells horrible. What is it?"

Ruby poked her fingers together. "Moka made it."

Akuha watched the bubbling mess for a moment longer before noticing Kurumu, Yukari, and Mizore each staring at it speechlessly. It was an all-girl's class after all. There was something a little off about Yukari though. She looked sick, and not shocked, as if she had eaten something she shouldn't have.

"Well…" Kurumu looked over her shoulder at Mizore. "It's safe to say we've finally found a weakness."

"What? That Moka's a bad cook?" Akuha said as she came behind them.

They all turned to look. "Hey again, Akuha." Kurumu greeted her.

"That's not much of a discovery you've made." Akuha explained stoically, "She's always been a _terrible_ chef. Struggles even with mashed potatoes and _white rice_."

"Woah!" Kurumu looked back at Moka. While the intention was to get an edge against her, she was still a good friend. "I don't think now is the time to worry about love-rivalries though."

Mizore nodded. "I have a feeling that Moka's cooking will kill someone if we just stand here."

Akuha noticed Moka standing in a corner by herself, looking miserable.

"I can't believe it…" Moka stared into her open palms. "I still suck at cooking?" She knew how badly she cooked as a little girl, but that was exactly it, she was _a little girl_. She felt a lot worse about it now that she was all grown up. "I've been sealed up for so long. How to cook is completely lost on me." She glanced back at the huge mess she made.

"_Think of the person you want to give it to as you make it_." Ruby said earlier to the class.

Moka made a deeper frown at the monstrosity she had created.

"Don't worry about it, Moka." Akuha said next to her.

"Nee-sama?" Moka looked to her in surprise and frowned again. "It's like those gym-sock-cookies again right?"

Akuha shook her head. "Now that doesn't sound like you." She patted her on the shoulder. "C'mon, we all fail a few times before getting better. In fact, my martial arts masters often bullied me when I first started my training."

"Yeah, you can't always get it the first time!" Kurumu chirped as she approached them, "Just need to try again!"

"That's right." Ruby said, "How about we have a special supplementary lesson and start from scratch?"

"And if you feel depressed, I'll start to feel sad too." said Mizore.

Yukari just stood there twitching and garbling to herself.

Moka studied them for a moment, and smiled. "Alright." She, Kurumu, Mizore, and Ruby raised their kitchen utensils into a cluster, much like how medieval knights would put their swords together in a group huddle.

"We'll make a delicious pumpkin pie together!" Kurumu cheered. She turned her head and eyed Akuha, who leaned against the wall with her arms folded.

Akuha grinned and snickered. "I'll help however I can."

XXX

**Gym Class**

Irena almost always skipped gym class, but she made one exception today. She seemed to be more interested in hanging out with Ginei than usual for whatever reason. The both of them put on the school's standard gym outfits, and had stepped outside to the outdoor track. It wasn't until two minutes had gone by before anything noteworthy happened.

"Uh?" Ginei stopped in the middle of the track when he noticed that Irena was gone. "Irena? Where'd ya go?" He looked behind himself and saw that she had collapsed onto her knees a while back.

"So weary… exhausted… urgh…" Irena panted loudly between each breath.

"I think it's safe to say, I've finally found something she isn't good at." Ginei zoomed like a bullet to her. "Dang girl, we only ran for like, 300 feet. You're kind of out-of-shape." He held his hand down to her.

Irena took his hand and was brought to her feet. "I'm not unhealthy, my kind just isn't designed for running." She took another breath. "Lecorjamasi fly you know." She coughed.

"You look like you're gonna _die_ if you try to run anymore."

Irena panted for a moment longer. "Now you know why I always skip PE."

The track they were on had a machine to count how many laps each student had gone without leaving it. It was easy to trick though. Ginei picked Irena up, his arms below her knees and back. "Hold on tight, I plan on going too fast for the teacher to notice."

"Wait, you're going to-" They zoomed like a lightning bolt. "_Oh deeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaar_!" Irena first screamed, but then began to laugh playfully as if enjoying herself on a roller coaster. They went around the track three times, totaling in four laps now.

Ginei put her down. "Had fun?"

Irena still laughed. "Oh I did, but please give me a warning next time."

"That's what she s… never mind."

The two of them got themselves seated along the back row of the steel bleachers that overlooked the track. Only a few other students were already seated, each being a very fast type of monster. Everyone else was still sluggishly running around the track.

"Redundant…" Irena murmured.

"What?"

Irena didn't respond, and instead stared up at the blue sky.

Ginei just sat there without a word. He didn't really notice it before, but Irena's right upper-leg seemed to be entirely covered by what looked like tight black leather, probably morphed from her feathers. Between this and the leg-socks she always wore, it seemed like she was trying to hide something. "Irena? Why do you always cover your right upper-leg?"

Irena blinked and looked over at him. "Oh, I have a nasty scar. It's not something I like to show others."

"A scar?" Ginei supposed that he didn't want to see it. "How'd you get it?"

"A very _bad_ man gave it to me." Irena stroked a hand lightly over her upper leg. "Like I said, I wouldn't be who I am now if not for some people I've met."

Ginei made a serious face. "Was he a serial killer or something?"

"A cultist, and a crazy one at that." For the first time Ginei had seen, Irena suddenly looked unhappy. "It's not something I enjoy talking about. Please, let it be."

"Alright." Ginei nodded. "The past is the past anyways."

Irena let out a quick laugh. "Hah, '_the past_'."

XXX

**Cooking Class**

When Kokoa had fallen sick at the taste of the mutant pumpkin pie, her pet bat had been left behind, and seemed to be taking a liking to Akuha's shoulder. It was more than easy to tolerate the bat considering his uses.

"You mind, fella?" Akuha said as she lightly poked the bat on the head.

Kokoa's bat hoped up and morphed into a Chinese broadsword.

Akuha caught him by the hilt. "Ah…" She flicked her wrist and swung the sword lightly. "I forgot how nice it felt to hold a weapon like this." She stabbed the sword into the roasted pumpkin she was cooking, only surface-deep, and then flung it straight up. She unleashed a flurry of cuts and slashes at the pumpkin, separating it into thousands of bite-sized squares that all landed onto a plate she had placed earlier. "How are the rest of you-"

_**BOOM**_!

Akuha covered her ears at the sound. "Wha?" She dropped her hands and noticed the smoke that covered the other side of the classroom. There was a fire rapidly spreading.

"Run!" Ruby screamed, "Everyone evacuate immediately!" She and Mizore ran for the exit, while Kurumu grabbed Yukari and carried her under her arm.

Moka, whom was most ashamed of the mess, slowly walked away with her head down. In her hand was a container with the pumpkin pie she had made. It was burnt, but finished.

Akuha stood there at her side of the room, looking from the spare ingredients she still had, to Moka's burning pie, then to the fire that was spreading closer and closer. "Not much time to work with? I like it that way."

Moka stepped outside as the firemen rushed to hose the place down behind her. She sat down on a bench and set her pie next to her. "No way… I'll bet my cooking's more lethal than my kicks…" She eyed the pie container next to her with disgust.

After a few minutes, Moka just closed her eyes and groaned. A bit of wind passed by and a small 'clank' noise was heard. "Huh?" Moka looked around. Nothing looked out of place.

XXX

**Courtyard**

Ginei and Irena walked around the academy together, wearing their green school uniforms again. They were done with classes today, and were enjoying some nice social time before they returned to their dorms.

"So I'm wondering," Ginei said, "what is up with Moka's family and beverages? Moka, mocha. Kokoa, cocoa. Akuha, aqua. There's a forth sister named Kahlua, and I'm sure that's a Mexican liquor."

"Coffee flavored." Irena grasped her hands together behind her back. "Yes, it's a strange way to name their daughters, but at least it can be overlooked."

"Better than household appliances I guess." Ginei stopped where he was. He looked to the side and noticed that Irena was starting towards the forest. "Irena, we shouldn't go out there. Haven't you heard of the disappearances going on?"

Irena stopped and looked over her shoulder. "I've taken that into account."

"Then aren't you worried something'll happen? You know, if we leave the school."

"Of course not." Irena giggled. "I have you to protect me don't I?" She faced forward and began to glide towards a path between the trees. "I'm not worried."

Ginei stood there, hesitating. He knew that students were to remain near the school buildings at all times. Then again, he wasn't just any student, and a werewolf was more than capable of defending himself or anyone with him. Irena probably kept that in mind; she wasn't stupid. "Hold up a sec, wait!" Ginei ran after her.

They strode side-by-side through the forest path. The sky was starting to turn orange, and the sound of the ocean was steadily getting louder.

"Relax yourself, Gin." Irena said.

Ginei had been looking around cautiously. He was almost paranoid that someone could be watching them. "Sorry, it's just…"

"Nothing bad shall happen." Irena made a devious wink. "Not to _us_." They continued walking.

"So…" Ginei ducked under a branch. "Since the subject was brought up, what do you think about the disappearances?"

"It strikes me as odd how they still can't find the culprits." Irena said without looking back at him.

"Yeah, everyone's noticed they've been looking about everywhere."

"Not quite everywhere. I'd say they've been looking in all the wrong places."

"Where else could they be then?"

Irena grinned. "Where else but the school itself? What if they were hiding in broad daylight among us and we just don't suspect them?"

"You think they could be _part_ of the student body?" Ginei thought to himself for a moment. "In that case, they've got to be new to this academy; guys that weren't here before." He remembered he did a lot of fighting during his first year. "Maybe it's some of the freshmen."

Irena stopped and turned around. She placed a hand above her chest. "You don't think it could be me do you?" she asked, making a sad-puppy face.

"Of course not." Ginei answered in a hurry. "I'd never think that for a second, and I'm not just saying that cause you're pretty." He reached forward to grasp her hands and held them in his. "I know a decent woman when I see one."

"You think I'm a good person?"

"You're kind, sensible, and understanding. I'd say that sums up what a good person is."

Irena let go of his hands. "Flattering." She turned and they continued walking.

"Back on the topic earlier, who do you the troublemakers are?"

"There aren't a lot of suspects."

"Yeah, probably is freshmen then… and I mean_ other_ freshmen I probably don't know."

Irena turned an eye to the side. "Whoever said it had to be students, Gin? Akuha Shuzen is new here too."

"You think it's the head of security herself?" Ginei made a pondering gesture. "Yes… if that were the case I can see why she still hasn't been caught."

"I never said she was the culprit. It's all just speculation at this point." Irena stopped along the gravel road, and moved into the think forest trees. "Still, I wouldn't rule her out as of yet. She _is_ an infamous killer."

Ginei stepped over a few roots and tree stumps. "Where are we headed exactly?"

Irena stepped into an open cliff side with a wide view of the ocean. A cool, gentle breeze blew over and the smooth sound of water far below was heard. Straight ahead of them was the sun setting over the water.

"Wow!" Ginei walked up to the cliff side. "The view here is just breathtaking!"

Irena folded her arms together. The breeze here made it feel a little bit chilly. "At the start of the quarter, I came here to relax and loosen up." She sat down and stared at the glittering orange waters, out to where it connected with the ginger sky with the sun resting in-between them. "I haven't been here since the disappearances began."

Ginei sat down next to her. He gathered now that she wanted to see this place again. Considering the possible dangers, she couldn't go without someone to watch over her. "I think I've come by this spot before," Ginei said to her, "but I never imagined it looking this nice during sunset."

Irena leaned against Ginei's side, and rested her cheek onto his shoulder. Ginei looked into her crystal-like eyes as she looked into his. They shared a kiss… sitting before the beautiful sunset. "Enjoy this moment while it lasts, Ginei." Irena said as she pulled her head back, "Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow may never come."

XXX

**School Rooftop**

A depressed Moka looked out onto the falling sun. "Sunset…" She looked down at the container in her hands. It wasn't like her pumpkin pie was edible. "I guess it's time to return the body." She raised the container, about to throw it off into the distance.

"Wait, Moka!" Tsukune came running to her from the roof's doorway.

Moka froze. "Tsukune?" She lowered the container slowly.

"Glad I found you." Tsukune scratched his cheek as he walked closer. "I came as soon as I heard what happened."

Moka watched him for a moment, not knowing what to say. "It's a joke right?" She held up the closed container. "Even with help from the others, this was all I could make."

Tsukune accepted the package and opened it.

Moka closed her eyes. "I'll bet that tastes like charcoal… guess fighting is all I'm good at." With her eyes still closed, she turned away.

"What are you talking about, Moka?"

"'_What am I talking about_'?" Moka looked at him. "Just take a-" She saw that Tsukune had opened the container and taken a bite from the pie. "You idiot! Spit that out before it kills you!" She looked around in a panic. "I'll go get some water and-"

"This is delicious!" Tsukune said with a happy smile. "What're you talking about? That was perfect!"

Moka just stared at him with her mouth dropped open.

Tsukune took another slice of pie with his hand. He seemed to be legitimately enjoying it. He wasn't coughing, gagging, or forcing a fake smile. The slice of pie he held wasn't burnt at all.

XXX

Akuha leaned against the railings on another rooftop, watching smoke and flames arise over the home-economics building. She had offered her help but they told her they had things under control. "So…" She looked over her shoulder. "Did Tsuk enjoy the pie?"

Moka had jumped up from ground level, and landed all the way up onto the thin railings. "You mean _your_ pie?" She dropped down and landed on the roof with her sister.

"I'm glad you're so quick to catch on. You still got it." Both sisters stood upright and faced each other.

"Why didn't you talk to me first?" asked Moka, "It sounds like you expected me to figure it out anyways."

"Because I knew you'd reject the offer if I asked."

"That's a big insult to my pride you know."

Akuha's eyes darkened. "And that's _why_ you'd reject my offer." She picked up a small package next to her and opened it, revealing Moka's carbon pie. "You were planning on throwing this off the roof anyways."

"Whether I succeed or fail should be on _me_, and me alone!"

"The others still helped you with the pie didn't they?"

"They _helped_. It was still _my_ pie!"

Akuha shook her head in frustration. "Moka, I didn't want Tsuk to get poisoned. Knowing him, I'm sure he'd try to eat your pie no matter _how_ burnt it was." She shut the container and placed it down. "Atop of that, you're taking your pride way too far, even for a vampire."

Moka just gritted her teeth. Had those words come from anyone else she would have already kicked them.

"I'm not telling you how to live your life, but this same pride almost got me killed a dozen times before I decided to swallow it." Akuha knew she was pressing some buttons, but kept going. "It's a road to nothingness. You know what becomes of it? We refuse to accept our shortcomings and keep tackling them head-on, the exact same way, until it kills us. That's why there's so few of us left. We don't grow up and think rationally!"

"You've changed, Nee-sama." Moka asked suspiciously.

"You haven't changed a bit." Akuha sighed and let out some steam. She couldn't speak for Moka, but preferred to see her alive and humiliated rather than dead. "Sorry, but I'm just trying to tell you something that might save your life one day. My pride…" Akuha voice trailed off. Her great 'pride' had brought about her greatest shame five years ago.

"Well anyways…" Moka unraveled Belmont, the whip around her upper leg, and handed it to Akuha. "Give it back to the headmaster… and…" She managed a smile. "Can you tell the other me, 'thank you for lending the body today, I had plenty of fun." A brilliant pinkish flash was made and she returned to her sealed state again.

Akuha stuffed the compact whip into one of her coat pockets. "See ya later…" she murmured.

The rooftop door sudden swung open, as if someone had the devil after her.

"Kurumu?"

Kurumu ran up to Akuha with a frightened look on her face. A moment ago, her biggest concern was Moka's horrible cooking skills, but none of that mattered to her anymore. "D- d- d- d- d- d-" she stuttered.

"What's the matter?" Akuha asked her, "Spit it out."

Kurumu swung her pointed finger in the direction of the art building. "D- d- d- de-"

"Dead?"

Kurumu nodded her head up and down wildly.

"Dead what?"

"B- b- bod…"

Akuha took a moment to process what she was being told. She eyed the growing smoke and flames coming from the building behind her, and then back to Kurumu. "Both of you, find some school staff members and stick near them at all times. I'm gonna have a look at the art classrooms." She leapt off the rooftop. "I'll meet up with you later." she yelled. She continued to leap off in the distance. "About time… I was starting to lose my patience."

XXX

To be continued in next chapter…

* * *

**Outer Moka **_**was**_** depicted as a bad cook in the manga. In volume 1 chapter 11 she makes bad tasting white rice. How can anyone screw that up? ****The only thing I can imagine that's worse is failing at _boiling water._ I wonder how Inner Moka would handle that.**


	28. Chpt 28: Devils and Monsters

******'Devils… Monsters…' is probably a more fitting title for this whole fiction than 'Assassin.' Still, it's too late for that now. Sure it can be changed at anytime but I'm sure that everyone's gotten used to the current title. 'Devils… Monsters…' is also the name of the Flood's theme from the first Halo.**

* * *

**The Students**

"Good lord!" A sophomore whimpered, "Since when did this academy become 'Dead-Man-Wonderland'?"

"The undead have always been attending this school." Another student joked.

"That's beside the point." He wrapped his arm around his girlfriend that stood next to him. "The point is that people have been dropping like flies around here for over a month."

"Yeah, what's campus security doing?" said yet another student, "It's a complete joke."

"Hmp." A fourth student made a quick glace at the others around him. About a dozen kids, most of who were strangers, had gathered into a far corner of the academy. Delinquents and 'rebels' liked to hang out here, as staff members practically forgot it existed. "The joke is that they pretend nothing's wrong. What do they take us for?" He pulled out a lighter and lit a cigarette. Smoking was banned, but it wasn't like the teachers would notice it here.

"Maybe they think we'd go crazy and panic?"

"Maybe _they're_ the ones panicking."

"I think the killer is part of security itself." Everyone paused at that remark.

A younger kid hurled a spit-wad into a corner. "The killer is probably a student." Everyone nodded in agreement. A student killing another student was actually quite common in an academy filled with monsters.

"The forest has been checked a million times," said the smoking kid, "so it's gotta be."

"You think it could be Makoto? He nearly killed two guys at the beginning of the quarter."

"What about Tamaki? He just snapped and went crazy when his girlfriend dumped him."

"Na, that creep is too gutless to kill anyone."

"It could also be Youhei. The guy has always been a loner, and he's bullied anyone who looks at him funny."

"And Akio went mad after he read that letter from his dad."

The smoking student tapped his cigarette to drop ash off the tip. "It sounds like everyone's going crazy now, either in rage or in fear."

"We got every reason to be scared, man. The killer could be anyone at this school. _Anyone_!"

The sophomore's girlfriend spoke up. "And half the students are getting really unstable."

The smoking student shook his head. He knew this couldn't be a coincidence. Whoever the killer or killers were, they had to be smart, not crazy. Or who knows? The world worked in mysterious ways. Maybe the killers were smart _and_ crazy.

"Let go of me!" Yelled a young sounding boy in the distance.

The group of students all turned to look. Six other students came walking around the corner, and they were holding up a freshman boy with them.

"Leave me alone!" Kuzu cried, "I was just looking for my friend!"

The ringleader of the bullies jabbed Kuzu's forehead with his own cane. "Friend? You mean that 'Tadashi' loser?" They brought Kuzu in front of a trash bin. "I'll bet the only reason he hangs out with you is cause you're the only kid more _pathetic_ than he is."

Kuzu was thrown into the trash bin. He couldn't see anything, but he could _feel_ that it was half-full.

"Anyone would look better when standing next to you." The bully ringleader looked at Kuzu's cane. "You really like this cane. You clean it off after every time." He bent the cane into a 'C' shape and threw it in the trash bin with Kuzu. "Let's see you fix it now!"

The group of twelve kids just watched. "Shouldn't we do something?" the girl asked.

"Just don't involve yourself." said the cigarette smoking young-man.

Kuzu felt the trash bin lid close over him. "Arrrrrrrrghh!" He went mad and kicked at every side of the trash bin. He didn't care about the smell, he didn't care that he couldn't see, it didn't even matter to him that his cane was bent. It was all the _joyful_ laughter he heard outside that made him sick. How much pleasure the bullies got from doing this, how _happy_ they sounded, the thought of their smiling faces that burned into his mind… he _hated_ those bullies. He hated them so much… he wished they were dead.

"Wow, I don't think he's ever gotten this angry before." said one of the bullies.

Still in the trash bin, Kuzu just cried to himself. Why? Why couldn't he just be left alone?

"Let's get outta' here," said their ringleader, "we'll toss around this piece of trash some other time."

The sound of the bullies laughing as they walked away pushed Kuzu over the edge. "Do I hate them?" He reached down into his pocket. "Do I _hate_ them?"

The bullies stopped to look back at the trash bin. It seemed to rattle around like it was possessed. "Eh? What's the freshman up to?"

The trash bin suddenly broke apart, revealing dozens of black squid-like tentacles. They moved aside revealing Kuzu beneath them. Halfway down each arm he had morphed six thin tentacles that slowly waved around. A black mist radiated out of his eye sockets, and he could finally see for the first time in his life.

The smoking student dropped his cigarette in awe. "Never seen a yōkailike that before."

Kuzu lifted himself up with his many tentacles and glided forward. He didn't say a word, he just wanted to get this over with and never think of it again.

The group of students watched in disbelief at what they saw next. "I think I know who the killer is!" yelled the sophomore.

XXX

**Akuha**

Akuha landed onto the art building's rooftop, looking back at the growing smoke clouds. "I thought they didn't need any help." Akuha murmured. The smoke had already spread over the entire academy. "I'm checking back there after I-" She froze at the scent of fresh blood. There wasn't a lot of it, but a vampire could smell even a nosebleed a mile away.

Akuha charged into the building, following the scent. "Hey! Is anyone alive in here?" she yelled down the hall.

No reply.

Akuha closed her eyes and drew in the strangely cold air. Every door down the hall was closed, and they all seemed to radiate the scent of blood. "Either they didn't try to run, or they didn't get the chance." Her eyes turned to the nearest classroom door. She tapped a knuckle to knock on it, and it just creaked open on its own. "Yikes!" She jumped back to the row of windows behind her.

It was an awful sight to behold. Spread all over the room was countless bodies, though somehow very little blood was spilt. The scent that intoxicated the air seemed to have come from nosebleeds, broken jaws, and a few stab wounds made from broken glass.

The sight didn't sicken Akuha, though it certainly did startle her. She just never imagined this happening right inside the school. "I can see why Kurumu was in such a shock." With a closer look, she could see many obvious differences between this and the previous killings. There were no palm-shaped openings on the bodies. Instead, they were bruised and evidently beaten to death, probably with fists or blunt weapons.

Akuha bent down and grabbed a student's wrist. Examining his bruised fingers, she could tell that he had tried to fight back against his attackers. "But why would _everyone_ participate in this fight?" Akuha thought, "No one ran and called for help? They all tried to gang up on whatever it was?" She dropped the boy's hand and examined the rest of the classroom.

Nearly every desk had its legs ripped off, lying on the floor or in somebody's hands. The faucet, steel pipes, and everything else solid enough was also scattered throughout the room. Apparently anything the class could get their hands on was used as a weapon.

Akuha considered all she found here: Students that were beaten and clubbed to death, some baring worn fists and the rest equipped with blunt weapons. She turned and left the room, surprisingly calm about the situation. By more than just her gut, she knew that the one behind this was on a whole different league from Kuyou and the Doppelganger. It had to be someone that understood the mind, someone charismatic and persuasive…

XXX

There were a lot of bizarre clubs at this school. The mime club, the beefsteak club, the panty club, but the one that bugged Akuha the most was without a clear name. Most just referred to it as 'The Fan-Club', led by three creepy guys that had a crush on Moka, Kurumu, and Yukari.

Akuha found the clubroom door at the east side of school. "Excuse me?" She opened it and peaked inside. "Anyone in here?"

There were three underwhelming boys in the room, one scrawny, one short and fat, and one with glasses. _They were wearing pink jackets, and was each looking through stacks of photos at a table._ They were so absorbed into their 'club work' that they didn't seem to notice the fire burning a few buildings away.

"We only sell photo's during the day." Kozo Kasahara said without looking.

"Yeah, come back tomorrow if you want to buy any." Bozaburo Taira mumbled, his eyes fixed on the photos below him.

Kubisaku Nagai studied his photos like flashcards. "We're having a sale of Akuha pictures later this week." He looked up at the doorway.

"_Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh_!" The three of them leapt up and grabbed each other in fear.

Akuha looked around the room. There were pictures, posters, and even life-sized cardboard cutouts of Moka, Kurumu, Yukari, and Mizore surrounding her. Along a shelf, there were even a few action figures of them. There were a few pictures of Ruby and herself on the walls, though there weren't nearly as many. "I think this is even _scarier_…" she murmured, looking irritated.

"This isn't what it looks like!" Bozaburo squealed.

Under normal circumstances, Akuha would have loved beating the crap out of these guys, but she had more important things to worry about. "It pains me to waist time here, so I'll get right to the point."

"Wha… what do you want?" Kubisaku asked.

"You keep pictures and a profile on every pretty girl on campus, right?"

The fanboys looked at each other. "Yes." they cautiously answered.

"Do you have any pictures of a foreign looking girl?" Akuha brought her hand up to signal height. "A few inches taller than me, long white hair, purple eyes, talks like a philosophical college professor."

One of the fanboys turned and opened a filing cabinet behind them. He spent a moment searching through their huge, loaded files before pulling out a tiny, almost empty file. "You mean this girl?" He threw it to the table.

Akuha picked up the file and opened it. While there was only one photo, there was no mistaking whom it was a picture of. "As I thought…" It _was_ Talia, wearing a Yōkai Academy school uniform, halfway turned around and looking at whoever had taken the picture.

"I ran like crazy after taking that." Kubisaku said, "That was the first time any of us had seen her. I don't know her name, but she's drop-dead gorgeous!"

Akuha set the picture down. "Got anything else on her?"

"I tried following her to her dorm once." Kasahara said, "I found it, but couldn't get a good look inside."

Akuha violently grabbed him by the collar. "Where is her dorm? What room number? Talk!"

XXX

**Ruby**

"Dang," Ruby said, looking at the rising smoke above the buildings, "the fire is getting even worse now." Only Yukari and Mizore were with her, sitting at a table in the outdoor cafeteria area.

"Something doesn't add up," Yukari said, "I mean the firefighters had it under control when we left, but now the fires just started growing again."

The two witches continue to stare at the rising smoke. It was getting so thick that it blocked out the sky, and the only light that remained was the reddish glow from the fire. The academy had looked so peaceful during the day, but now, it just looked foreboding and ominous.

Ruby suddenly got up, lifted her long skirt to her knees, and began to run towards where the smoke was rising. "I'm going to check on the firefighters."

"Wait Ruby!" Yukari pushed her chair back and leapt to her feet. "We'll come with you."

"No thanks," Mizore said, "I'm going to head to my dorm." She got up and turned the other direction. "If it involves fire, count me out."

"Have it your way." Yukari ran after Ruby.

Ruby was already heading through an alleyway. She couldn't move very fast without tripping over her dress. "What's going on here?" she thought nervously, "I mean the year started off so smoothly, but then there's all these mur… disappearances… and now this big wildfire." Yukari's steps were heard from behind her.

"Wait for me!" Yukari said, running as fast as her scrawny legs could carry her.

"Yukari?" Ruby looked over her shoulder. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm gonna check on the firefighters with you."

"I don't think someone your age should be exposed to this kind of stuff."

"Someone my age?" Yukari looked quite offended. "I'm a second year! I'm not a little kid!"

Ruby couldn't bring herself to agree with that last part. After all the dangerous situations they've been through, Yukari was still prone to panic. They two of them came into another courtyard. Directly across from them was the home-economics building… or what was left of it.

"Holy smokes!" Yukari yelled. The fire had completely engulfed the building and was already spreading onto three others.

Ruby just froze wide-eyed at what she saw. "Where are all the firemen?" She noticed a water hose lying on the ground. Large currents of water were still flowing out of it. "They were just here. What happened to them?"

They both moved closer to the building. While there were still some fires left, it was mostly a pile of ash and debris. The firestorms over the other buildings however were burning bright.

"A coffee break seems unlikely…" Ruby looked down and noticed a few blood spatters.

"I'm scared!" Yukari grabbed Ruby in a suffocating hug. "This is too much! I can't take it! I'm just a little kid!"

Ruby tried to push Yukari off of her. The little witch _must_ have been frightened if she was driven to call herself as such. "Calm down! There's got to be a reason for this!" She tried to push her off.

Yukari fell backwards onto her butt, landing next to a bush. "Huh?" She noticed blood being soaked into her cape. "Ahhhhh!" She sprang up and hid behind Ruby. "Ruby, there's a corpse in that bush!"

Ruby shook her head. "Yukari, you're just panicking." She moved over to the bush and pushed some leaves aside. "I find it unlikely for-" The open, dead eyes of one of the firemen stared up at her. A lot of his face was covered in blood. "Woa!" Ruby hopped back.

Yukari hugged Ruby from behind like a tree truck. "Where's Akuha when you need her?"

Ruby cautiously rolled her eyes from one side to the other. She felt utterly terrified now. She wasn't a stranger to killing or murder, and had even killed a few humans on her old sunflower field to defend it, but what really got her frightened was having no idea what caused this. How? Why? Where was it now?

A dry leaf cracked behind them, and a male voice made a loud war cry.

"Ahhhhh!" Ruby and Yukari screamed together.

An angry looking student moved towards them slowly, though he looked like an escaped convict from an insane asylum. His eyes were bloodshot and he was breathing heavily. His uniform was torn and he had blood on his white undershirt.

"Stay back!" Ruby brought up and pointed her magic wand. "Don't come any closer!"

The student didn't seem to hear her. He shrieked again and ran with his weapon raised.

Ruby began to cast a spell, one that Yukari was quite fond of: summoning a household object. A bowling ball appeared above the student's head and hit him with a loud thump. He dropped to the ground unconscious.

"What was that guy's problem?" Yukari squawked, "He looks like he's eaten one-too-many blocks of sugar!"

Ruby leaned over to inspect the insane student, daring not to get any closer. The student seemed to be radiating a very strange energy. It felt almost like a vampire's demonic aura.

"C'mon," Yukari cried, "we've got to tell the Headmaster about this!"

Ruby cringed and looked around for more crazies. "We can't, he isn't even at the school right now."

"Dah! Why would he be away at a time like this?"

"Well, something about Fairy Tale came up about an hour ago." Ruby fiddled with her wand a little. "For whatever reason, they're hanging out at some place that concerns him. I don't think he'll be back for three hours or so."

"Then where's Akuha?" The sound of a window being smashed made Yukari jump.

Ruby grabbed her and hid behind the corpse-occupied bush. "Just stay calm, we need to focus on finding the others." She couldn't imagine this incident and Fairy Tale being connected. Sure it would make sense to draw the Headmaster away first, but Yōkai Academy's own students seemed to be the ones attacking, rather than soldiers or skilled assassins. "What's going on at this school?"

XXX

**Akuha**

Akuha speed-walked through one of the many dorm buildings. The gossip she overheard from the rooms she passed suggested that the students were paranoid. They seemed to suspect each other of being the killer, leaving them on-edge in a constant state of group hysteria.

"Here we are." Akuha stopped in front of the door that the fanboys had told her of. Rather than knocking, Akuha went straight for kicking the door down. Instead of breaking off of the door hinges, the door broke into dozens of wooden chunks that landed all over the floor.

Akuha stepped inside and looked around. The first thing to catch her eye was a harp sitting in a corner. She knew Talia was fond of playing the harp, and was often heard doing as such at the Floating Garden or on one of Fairy Tale's many blimps. Akuha had to admit that she took a liking to the relaxing tunes she played. Nonetheless, the harp was a sure indicator that Talia had indeed been staying here.

Akuha thoroughly checked the rest of the room. The dresser was empty. The shelf had only a hairbrush on it. All else that remained was a bed, a mirror, two cushioned chairs, and a bare table. "Either she packed lightly, or she's already long-gone." She moved over to the bed and noticed white furs on the sheets. "Ivory…" She noticed the familiar scent of Talia's cat in the room, though it was no longer here. "She brought her pet cat with her?"

She peeked below the bed and spotted a small safe. "If this room has any answers, they're in there…" She dragged the safe out and tapped a finger against the surface. It was quite study. She had broken through tougher surfaces before, but the punch she used on the gravestones at the Karate booth would probably break the floor instead. She threw the safe up to eye-level, striking the bottom with one fist and hitting the top with the other simultaneously. She caught the safe and it cracked like a coconut.

Akuha put her fingers in the fracture and ripped it open, finding a large stack of papers inside. She set both halves of the safe down, picked up the papers, and sat down on one of the cushioned seats. "C'mon you giggling creep, what've you been up to?" The first paper showed the profile of a student, including a photo and all kinds of information about him.

'_Name_:_ Makato Ito_,_ Age_:_ 18_,_ Birthplace_:_ Kyushu_,_ Yōkai Species_:_ Wendigo_…' The paper listed everything there was to know about the boy. Family, place of residence, even blood type. Akuha skimmed down to the bottom. '_Has been a participant in many acts of gang violence_. _Was betrayed by former gang in exchange for money_,_ and so is now untrusting of others_.' There seemed to be a lot of footnotes about his insecurities.

Akuha looked at the next paper. '_Name_:_ Akio Furukawa_,_ Age_:_ 16_,_ Birthplace_:_ Kyoto_,_ Yōkai Species_:_ Monstrel_…' She skipped to the bottom. '_Blames himself for the divorce of his parents_._ Had been living with his father until they had an argument and was thrown out as a result_. _Is not on good terms with any of his family members_." Like the last profile, the side notes suggested a lot of attention given to the boy's insecurities.

She flipped to the next paper. '_Has been going back-and-forth between two girls with a crush on him_. _His presence has caused confusion and signs of depression among others around him_.'

The next paper… "_Has an obsession over an 800-year-old family coin_."

_And the next… '__Has committed multiple attempts of assault on a number of female students__.'_

'_Harbors a notable hatred for students in the Sumo Club_.'

'_Has made death threats towards Kaname Tosen and Sajin Komamura_.'

She looked at another paper. '_Name_: _Fou_-" She skipped reading the name.'_Age_: _Claims to be 17_,_ Yōkai Species_:_ Troll_…' To the bottom… '_Has a strange sense of logic_. _Does not speak properly and has a long record of impulsive acts_. _Born with a serious mental disability_.'

Akuha threw the stack of papers to the table, deciding she had seen enough. She knew how manipulative Talia could be, once smooth-talking and flirting a mob boss's son into killing his own father. Said mob boss was Akuha's assassination target at the time, so she saw it all.

A spike of energy was suddenly felt from the other side of campus. It started small, but was growing like a raging fire. The energy signature felt exactly like Alistair's.

XXX

**Tsukune**

"I can't believe this…" Tsukune stared out the cafeteria windows. The entire courtyard below him was in flames. "How'd the fires spread so far?" The entire academy was shrouded under a dark-reddish atmosphere and the smoke made it hard to breath. _Tsukune decided it was the last straw when the power went out_. Something else was at work if the fires could spread completely unchallenged like this.

Tsukune took the last bite of the pumpkin pie Moka gave him and threw away the container. He moved down the dark hall, moving his palms along the walls to avoid bumping into anything. With the power out, the only light he had was from the fires shining through some of the windows.

"Hello?" Tsukune yelled down the hall. The building seemed completely disserted. By this time, there were usually groups of students still hanging out here. At the very least there was always a janitor. "Hey! Is anyone down there?" He took a few steps forward before he nearly slipped on something. "Ahhhhh!" He stumbled to a nearby window and checked his shoe in the light. "Blood?" He cautiously worked around the small blood patch. He remembered there being double doors down the hall that lead outside, so he began to pick up the pace. The widespread fires, smoke clouds above, and dark interior of the building made him feel like he was running though hell itself. He found the double doors and shoved them open, coming face-to-face with a horrific scene.

Crowds of over 100 crazy students were spread all over the courtyards, every one of them engaged in a brutal free-for-all massacre. They were all transformed to their natural forms and behaving like frenzied animals. As much as Tsukune wanted to ask them what was going on, it sure didn't look like they wanted to talk. Worse, the few that seemed to notice him came charging at him with claws, paws, and talons drawn.

Tsukune rolled up his sleeve. "I don't usually give into peer pressure but…" He grasped his holy lock. "Looks like I don't have a choice." With a single punch he sent a dozen students flying back, careful not to kill any of them.

XXX

**Ginei**

Ginei eye's shot open, looking straight up at the sky from on his back. "Oww…" He curled up and sat on his butt. "How long have I been asleep?" The sky seemed to be unusually dark. He remembered there being no clouds, so at least the stars should have been visible by now. Instead it was pitch black above him, as if he were in a cave. "Weird…" He could still hear water far below, though the Cliffside looked like a bottomless pit without any light. "Irena?" He noticed that his girlfriend was missing. "Irena!" He stood up and shouted. "Where are you?"

The last thing Ginei remembered was sharing a long-awaited kiss. After that, he just blanked out.

"That smell…" Ginei sniffed through the air. "Smoke?" It took a moment to fully wake up and realize there was a fire nearby. He suddenly understood why it was so dark out. "Oh no…" He found the path back to the school and ran. "Is Kuyou back or something? What's with all the fire?" He felt himself begin to slow down and cough hysterically. A werewolf's sense of smell was sensitive, and the fire he was running towards must have been huge. He covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve and ran sluggishly.

Further down the path, there was a student crawling away from where the school was. His left arm was being dragged as dead weight, and was leaving a trail of green blood.

Ginei ran up to the student and knelt down. With a closer look, he recognized the boy's greasy appearance. It was Kanou Nagare, the Madslug that tried to take dirty pictures of Kurumu at the beginning of her first year. Ginei didn't like the guy, but that didn't mean he wanted to see him like this. "Hey, who did this to you?"

Kanou coughed out sludge. "Everyone's gone crazy…" He brought out a syringe that gave off a strange demonic aura. "Before anyone realized what was going on, people had these things in their pockets and started going mad…" He dropped the syringe and grabbed Ginei's shirt. "Don't come any closer to the school," he hacked between each word, "it's hell up there…" His hand slid down and he stopped moving.

Ginei ignored Kanou's warning and continued towards the academy. He came out of the forest and into the clearing, gasping at what he saw. The _entire_ campus was completely engulfed in flames. "Looks like Kanou really meant it…" He thought of Irena, Haiji, and his friends from the newspaper club. He didn't know what to expect, but it was clear that they were in danger. "Hold on guys, I'm coming." He ran towards the wild inferno hoping for the best.

XXX

**Kuzu**

"Everyone is dead…" Bodies were scattered everywhere. All over the ground, on the rooftops, there were even a few limbs sticking out of broken windows. It looked as if a war had passed through here. Kuzu collapsed to his knees. "The devil…" He broke down and started crying. "The devil has come to this place!" He just didn't have it in him to look for help anymore. The only thing that wandering did for him was finding more bodies.

"Hey Kuzu, I've been looking everywhere for you."

Kuzu looked up and saw his friend standing in front of him. "Tadashi? This place has gone mad!"

Tadashi looked very calm despite the circumstance. "It's alright if you feel that way. Freshman year is the most stressful time of high school." He knelt down next to Kuzu. "You look very shaken. Did you run into those bullies again?"

Kuzu was breathing heavily, as if he had run a mile. "I… I killed them…" He buried his face into his hands. "I literally tore them limb from limb."

"They were horrible people and probably deserved it anyways. Violence is a lot more accepted in our society, so no hard feelings." Tadashi just patted him on the shoulder.

Kuzu lowered his hands, revealing the black mist coming from his eye sockets. "All my life, all I ever wanted was to see…" He looked around from the fire, to the blood, to the bodies. "…and I see a hell without exit or end. I see no reason, no conscience, no understanding… things that I've always noticed while I was blind." Moans were heard from wounded in the distance. "Of all the things that could've been my first sight, a sunny day, my favorite food, maybe even that girl…" Even with his newfound sight, he still could only imagine what Akuha looked like. "That would've been nice… going beyond just hearing a pretty girl's voice… and actually seeing her… any girl." He began to weep again. "I wish I'd just remained blind."

"Don't worry man," Tadashi spoke calmly, "I'll make those pesky feelings go away forever."

Kuzu felt a hand plunge through his back and out his chest. The hand was almost skeletal, not like something without flesh, but resembling a man starving to death. It seemed to have neon-blue skin and was armored in scarlet scales. "Wha… what is…" He turned his head.

Tadashi stared back at him, not even phased by what he had done. "Confused?" He pulled his hand back as it changed back to normal.

Kuzu fell over with a hole in his chest, chocking out blood loudly.

Tadashi stood up. "I told you I was a goblin right?" He began to change shape, becoming a small, green goblin. "That wasn't a lie, I _am_ a goblin like I said I was," he began to change shape again, becoming a tall, handsome teenaged man with red eyes and white hair, "and I'm also a vampire," he changed again, "and a werewolf," he became shrouded in flames, "and a Youko, and a Siren, and a Jorougumo. In fact I've become nearly _every_ yōkai that exists after my last few meals."

Kuzu was barley clinging to life. Shadow Claw were tough, and could survive even with a hole in their chest… for a while. "You're… you're the killer."

Tadashi reverted back to his 'small schoolboy' form. "The real Tadashi was dead before you met him. Just a small bite next to all the biomass I've eaten over the past month, and even all of that is nothing compared to what I got from the first subject I was made from," he sighed, "after Akuha scraped it." He slowly began to change again, this time into something completely unworldly. It was thin but tall, protected under a shell of scarlet scale-like armor that covered its neon-blue skin. It had long raptor-like talons, six-jointed fingers, and curved spikes on its shoulders. Large shimmering crystals seemed to be growing from it's back, and it bore a strange neck-less head with gills on its cheeks, slanted slit for eyes, and two ram-like horns.

Kuzu felt even more surprised. The creature looked just plain _ugly_ and _weird_. Like everything else he had seen today, it was like something out of a bad dream.

XXX

To be continued in next chapter…

* * *

**Remember what I said back in chapter 12? About this story taking much darker turns later? This is _exactly_ what I was talking about.**

Legend96 said: "do you have a google image that would somewhat resemble Tadashi's true form cause it's kinda hard to picture it in my head"

**Nothing is on G****oogle and I can't post links** on chapters. For anyone that has a hard time imagining what Bythuss looks like (which I expect is everyone) go to my profile page. I just posted an image of _exactly_ what I based him off of.


	29. Chpt 29: Limbo

**Sorry this one took _way_longer than it should have. I've been without a computer for a while and I had to retype this. Atop of that, my editor had a virus and is busy with other projects. Doesn't help that this is one of the longest chapters so far…**

**Count on me to always come up with excuses, but hey, I'm only writing this as a hobby.**

Alhazard2003 said: "ARGH! The killer is Tiddledywank? I hated him Frozen Paradox' story, I hate him even more now."

**Tiddledywank? I never read whatever story that's from…**

* * *

**Yōkai Academy**

The bizarre creature made a roar at Kuzu that sounded like a snake imitating a goat. It seemed to lack speech in this form. Whatever its form was now, it obviously wasn't stolen from one of its victims. Judging from the huge mix of yōkai characteristics, it was probably a large combination of everything it had ever absorbed.

The thing Kuzu only knew as 'Tadashi' brought its hand up. Its arm began to stretch and slither like a snake, pulling back and aiming for Kuzu's head.

"Bythuss!" Yelled a young lady.

Kuzu didn't even catch it, but the creature's hand had stopped an inch in front of his face. It slowly pulled its hand back and looked up at one of the rooftops.

Talia looked down at them from the side of the roof, wearing her dark extravagant dress and tilting her head towards her shoulder. The inferno around her made her appear like a shady silhouette, though her features could still be read. Her eyes greatly reflected the fire, making them shine with a sinister radiance. "I specifically told you _not_ to kill any students you didn't have to. Let them fight each other." She looked irritated, and dissatisfied over what she saw. "You were only to harm the Student Police Force and the Doppelganger's thugs, no more than that."

The creature she called 'Bythuss' just roared back at her, sounding pissed, but listening to her nonetheless.

Irena seemed to understand the creature's roars. "I let you have those three students because you were starving, but this…" She put her hands to her hips and checked around. "This is completely overdoing it. The purpose of this ploy was to gather Antridermis, not to slaughter adolescents."

Bythuss hissed back at her.

"I could care less about hastening those matters." Talia made a look of disapproval at the hole in Kuzu's chest. "I'd rather they repent or be damned on their own accord. Destroying the righteous with the wicked, the good as well as the bad; that's nothing more than wanton butchery…"

Bythuss made another sequence of growls at her, as if ready to attack.

Talia made an unpleasant glare at the creature. "Still thinking like the mindless offspring of a petri dish? One would expect you to understand more than just destruction after all the memories you've absorbed."

Bythuss extended its arm towards Talia at a blinding speed. The arm began to slow down and shrivel up as it came closer, bringing it to give up and pull back.

Talia watched the nightmare on legs calmly. "Impatient and gluttonous…" she hummed softly, "what the Overseer saw in you I'll never understand." She opened her wingspan and turned away. "Your sordid banquets sicken, but at least don't hinder me. I suppose I'll tolerate them…" she said reluctantly, "for now." She flapped her wings and took off.

XXX

**Tsukune**

He punched through the large crowds of students. He threw some of them over his shoulders, kicked them like soccer balls, and even broke a few ribcages, but they just kept going even while they were literally falling apart. It was like they were on ultra-super-narcotics on steroids from the future. "What's wrong with you all?" Tsukune cried. He recognized the people he was fighting. The mermaids that once tried to suck the life out of him, Monstrels that were once part of Anti-Thesis, Lizardmen, Trolls, Mukadegami and many other yōkai that tried to hurt him or one of his friends before. Unless there were others going mad, whatever was causing this only seemed to affect the more aggressive and violent students for some reason.

A student swung a stone slab at Tsukune from behind. It moved very slowly from a Ghoul's perspective, though it wasn't until it hit him before he finally noticed it. He still hardly felt it, and merely spun around to punch the student into the distant wall.

Tsukune felt two other students running at him, and made short work of them with a few punches as well, nothing fancy. He didn't know much about fighting, but his better strength, speed, and damage threshold still allowed the fight to go his way. Crowds of yōkai came at him from all sides. When he punched one, another grabbed him from behind. When he threw him off, another struck him on the side. Sure they were vastly weaker than him, but there were just so _many_ of them. Bringing every one of them down would take forever, and there was no guarantee he could do it without killing anyone.

Tsukune tried to remember how Akuha and Moka fought during past battles. He wasn't as good as them, but trying to mimic them didn't sound like a bad idea. "Man, do I regret turning Akuha down…" He detected his enemies without his eyes quite easily, though it probably had something to do with them screaming at the top of their lungs. He grabbed a troll's massive arm and threw him into the crowd. He then kicked and completely broke the leg of a student swinging a pipe at him. He comically bonked two student's heads together to knock them out, only to be struck again from behind and sent flying.

"Okay, this isn't working out." Tsukune cleared his head as he got up from the crater he was in. It was only now when the thought of this 'taking forever' finally made something click. "While I spend time here… Moka and the others could be in danger!" After a moment of hesitation, he decided that staying here and aimlessly fighting would only add to the problem. He shoulder-charged through the crowd like a bulldozer in a cornfield. All that mattered to him now was getting to the dorm buildings. It was the best place to start.

XXX

**Akuha**

She couldn't hop along the rooftops like she usually did. There was fire all over them, and the buildings were already unstable and falling apart. Instead, she jogged at ground level. Besides more fire burning, all that she could find was more corpses lined up everywhere. It was worth noting that nearly all of them looked eaten, though evidently after they were already dead.

A soft moan came from one of the bodies.

"A live one?" Akuha spotted a boy twitching in a pool of his own blood.

Kuzu rolled his head over and noticed a dark-haired red-eyed girl approaching him.

Akuha knelt down next to the boy. "Black mist?" She could tell by his eyes that he was a Shadow Claw.

Kuzu recognized her voice. "Akuha Shuzen…"

Akuha only nodded, and made a grim face at the hole in Kuzu's chest.

"I started all this…" Kuzu chocked out.

"What?"

"So much fear was building up… and everyone just held it in." Kuzu gagged blood from his mouth. "I killed some people…"

Akuha padded the top of his head. "It's not your fault."

Kuzu didn't seem to hear her. "It all broke out at once. All that stored panic… it released itself when I killed those guys." He coughed. "I kill… everyone panics… and they all start killing too."

Akuha could see there was no saving this boy considering the hole in his chest. She began to stand up, deciding to leave him in peace.

Kuzu smiled at her. "You _look_… so beautiful…" His head slowly rolled over and the mist coming from him dissipated. He lay motionless with his eyes half open.

"Poor kid." Akuha gave a moment of silence. Without a living student to question, she had no leads.

The academy was plagued with the smell of charcoal, but even _more_ noticeable was Alistair's unseen, yet thick and widespread demonic aura. With a lot more concentration, Akuha began to pick up a separate, unrelated energy signature coming from every corner of the school. While faint, she still recognized it. When a yōkai underwent an adrenaline rush, their demonic aura would give off residue called Antridermis. Considering that the amount was determined anger, it didn't seem strange that there was so much of it given the situation. What bugged her was that it was all amassing onto one spot.

"Well that's worth checking out." Akuha sped away and followed the trail of energy.

XXX

**Tsukune**

Tsukune ran with haste he never knew he had. "Please be alright, please be alright!" As he passed through a group of trees he caught sight of the dorm buildings. Thankfully they were a fair distance from the school. All that lay between them was dirt, so it was unlikely for the fire to reach it. The same couldn't be said about rioting students though. "Moka!" he screamed as he burst through the dormitory doors.

The lights were off, seeing how the power was out, though there was enough light coming through the windows. A number of students sitting in the hallway just looked at Tsukune as he stood panting in the doorway.

"What's bothering him?" asked one of the students. None of them seemed scared, tense, or anything. At most they only seemed surprised at how loudly Tsukune had come in. A few of them began to gossip.

Tsukune couldn't help but feel confused. Everything seemed so normal here.

The students watched him for a moment longer, before returning to their activities. "That guy should loosen up."

"Are they even aware of what's happening outside?" Tsukune thought. He started to notice that half the students here were wearing glasses. Each of them seemed to be the quieter, more mature people he was used to seeing. The louder and more obnoxious ones were nowhere to be seen. "I sure hope the others are fine…" He finally walked in and closed the double doors behind him.

"Tsukune?" said a girl approaching him.

Tsukune spun around. "Mizore!" He put his hands onto her shoulders. "You're alright!"

"Uh…" Mizore felt curious, though she didn't look it. "Shouldn't I be?"

Tsukune pulled his hands back. "Don't you know what's going on?"

"Huh? You mean the fire?" Mizore looked out the window towards the direction of the school. "It doesn't bother me _that_ much. It won't reach here."

"But I wasn't talking about the fire."

Mizore tilted her head in a nosy fashion. "Did something happen?"

Tsukune just looked into her eyes. "You… you really haven't heard?"

"I haven't heard of anything besides the fire."

Tsukune looked around the hallways. The conversations he heard were mostly about schoolwork or playing a harmless prank on someone. A few people seemed nervous about the fire, though most didn't care or were awed by it. To the most part, everyone was calm and relaxed. "It doesn't matter." He looked back at the Snow Girl. "Where are Moka and the others? Are they here in the dorms?"

Mizore moved her lollipop from side to side in her mouth. "Kurumu is in her room. She was a little spooked when she got back but she's okay now." She turned around and looked down the dim hallway. "I don't think I've seen Yukari, and Moka said she wanted to look for her first. That was when the sun was still setting." She heard Tsukune run off. "Huh?"

Tsukune was already gone. The double doors were open again.

Mizore stared out the door like a statue. "Maybe I should've froze him while I had the chance?"

XXX

**Akuha**

In the outdoor cafeteria area, Talia stood at the top of a tall lamppost. Resting on her palm was a lustrous green crystal in the shape of an egg. Antridermis from all over the school was being drawn into it. "It's still not enough to affect him…" she murmured softly. Instead of a sadistic or heartless expression, she merely looked bored.

"Affect who?" Akuha came walking into the courtyard.

"Oh?" Talia was apparently cheered up by Akuha's presence. She hopped to the base of the lamppost and waved at her cheerfully. "Salutations, Akuha!"

Akuha continued to walk forward, a hint of rage in her face. "You! You're the one that did all this!"

"Me?" Talia placed a hand below her neck. "Of course not. I didn't lift a finger." She made a sly smile and looked to the side. "But don't take _my_ word for it. Look around you." She spread her arms towards the fires around them. "As you no doubt have guessed, the students eradicated _each other_. All _I_ had done was allow them to pursue their desires." She put her hands to her hips in a feminine posture. "It was up to them, and them alone to show how true-to-their-word they really were."

Akuha raised an eyebrow as she approached. "It isn't like you to sugarcoat your behavior."

Talia giggled. "I'm doing nothing of the sort, but if you insist, I could tell you that it was mostly 'bad eggs' that were harmed in the making of this…" Her voice trailed off. "Well, I'll not use cheap fauna analogies. I'll start sounding like Galvinro if I do."

Akuha noticed a number of syringes lying around the yard, containing the same substance that Kahlua was injected with. It was clear that Talia had been distributing them to the student body for some time. "So this was your way of 'casting down righteous judgment'? You spare who you like and kill off who you think is evil?"

Talia made a prying look at her. "Please…" She shook her head. "I am not so arrogant to think myself as a god." She held a syringe up and toyed with it. "Indeed, I offered the students temptation, but only _they_ decided whether or not to take it." She stashed the syringe away in her shoulder purse. "It was their own actions that judged who was naughty and who was nice, and it just so happens that many of them were spiteful to begin with."

Akuha knew from experience and Tsukune's stories that this school had _always_ been a violent environment. Students were at each other's throats for dominance regularly. "Hadn't noticed…" she said sarcastically. "So I guess in your words…" Akuha made a 'sexy pose' and mimicked a French Accent. "_The malevolence of most students here was really quite startling_."

Talia stared at her, nearly flabbergasted. "Great impression!" A big smile lit up on her face. "I'm liking that sense of humor you're developing!" she said in a perky manner.

Akuha backhanded Talia across the face, sending her to the ground.

Talia lay on her side as she rubbed the bruise on her cheek. It had obviously hurt, but she didn't seem any less cheerful. She just smiled at Akuha. "Understand that I did not do this out of boredom or a sick sense of justice. There was just something that I needed here, but the devil only holds sway over those that sin."

Akuha kicked Talia in the hip, ready to slice her up if she tried to fly.

Flying was the last thing on Talia's mind. "Despite what you may think, I am not a fan of indiscriminate murder." She made a darker, foreboding look at Akuha. "Although… it's possible you could be, seeing your actions in Clíodhna."

Akuha looked surprised. "How do you know about that?"

Talia's dress began to shrink away and become feathers again. They disappeared revealing the school uniform she wore below it. "Can you even imagine how distraught those people are? Many of them still haven't recovered."

Akuha just stared at her.

"I doubt if you remember poor Rebecca Solando, she hardly remembers you." Talia placed a hand below her head as if relaxing. "In fact she can't recall anything about that fateful day." She raised an index finger. "Get this, she believes that her cell in a mental institution is her house, the other patients are her neighbors, and that her three kids never died."

"Shut up, I've heard enough."

"Their names were Teddy, Dolores, and Laeddis." Talia's expression grew more solemn. "I should know, I used to play with them."

"_Shut up_!" Akuha brought her fist down with all her might. A massive crater was made and dust flew everywhere.

XXX

**Ruby**

"Behind you!" Ruby pointed her wand forward and a crow made of pure electricity shot out.

Yukari leapt to the ground and ducked in front of the burning Health building. Behind her, a crazed student jittered in an aura of electricity and fell unconscious. "Thanks!" She yelled. She got up and waved her wand too. Two more students armed with knives came running towards her, only to be engulfed in twisters of razor sharp playing cards. "Eat paper cuts!"

"Don't make them bleed!" Ruby summoned a small anvil over the head of another student. "Just knock them out."

"I got nothing else to go with." Yukari watched as the two boys ran away with cards still cutting them. "There's another one!" she pointed at the Health building's main entrance.

One more crazed student was standing at the short concrete staircase. Just as he began to move, an enormous mace hit him in the back like a wrecking ball. The student went flying off, revealing Kokoa and Moka behind him.

"Ruby! Yukari!" Sealed Moka ran up to them. "Thank goodness we heard your voices. I was afraid you'd…" She was almost ready to crack under the pressure.

"I'm afraid too Moka." Ruby said nervously, "I'm sure we'd all like to know what's going on, but we've got to find a safe place first."

"Hide?" Kokoa looked like she was insulted.

"Kokoa, this is no time to get full of ourselves." Ruby told her.

"I'm not saying we should look for trouble." Kokoa grabbed Moka's rosary.

Moka was awkwardly pulled closer. "Kokoa?"

"I think we should find Tsukune so he can pull this seal off." Kokoa said, "We need sister's strength."

Ruby nodded. "That's actually not a bad idea…"

A window smashed nearby and another student began to climb out.

Kokoa pushed both witches aside. "Don't worry, I got this one."

Before the student had even gotten out, the entire wall suddenly broke down as if rammed by a truck. A bizarre looking creature emerged from the dust clouds and grabbed the student. Its hands began to burn into the boy like acid, creating palm-shaped openings on him. Due to the substance the student was drugged with, he couldn't feel pain, and probably wasn't aware that his life was in danger.

Both witches and both vampires watched in disbelief. "Is that student even a yōkai?" Moka asked.

The creature started to absorb the student's flesh like a sponge to water. It then tossed aside a bare skeleton and focused its attention towards the girls… towards a frightened Moka. It began to approach them, dragging its claw against the window beside it. A loud, painful sound like a claw on a chalkboard was heard.

Yukari covered her ears. "I don't think he's even a student!"

"It's not." Ruby recognized the stomach-turning method in which it killed. "That thing is the killer we could never find!"

Kokoa charged forward with her mace raised. "So what if he is?" she yelled, taking a swing at the creature.

Bythuss brought its hand up. A large shockwave blew out as it _flicked_ its finger against Kokoa's mace and sent it flying over the rooftops.

Kokoa watched as her pet bat soared off, still in its mace form. "Wha… what the!" She turned back at the creature with a terrified look on her face.

"Stay behind me!" Ruby yelled to Yukari and Moka.

Bythuss bumped Kokoa aside, apparently not interested in her. Ruby fired a massive lightning bolt to its chest, but it didn't seem to notice. Kokoa jumped onto its back and tried to strangle it, but it shook her off and sent her straight through a concrete wall. As it grew more irritated, it began to morph its right arm into sizable doubled bladed sword.

Ruby stepped backwards as she threw every spell she knew at the creature, but it wouldn't so much as blink. Fed up with the annoyance, Bythuss swung its blade at her and blood sprayed out.

"Ruby!" Moka screamed.

Bythuss shoved Ruby aside in a puddle of her own blood.

As Moka turned to run, she noticed Yukari fishing her hand through her witch hat. "Yukari?"

"Plug your nose!" Yukari pulled out a small jar filled with black smoke. "This stuff smells horrible!" she threw the jar to the ground. It shattered and released an enormous black smokescreen.

Bythuss reached out to grab Moka, until the image of her disappeared into the smoke. The smoke seemed to contain rich demonic energies, making it impossible to detect anyone in it. It completely surrounded and blinded the creature, outraging it as it roared like a Tyrannosaurus Rex. When the smoke finally faded, all four of the girls were gone.

From within a cramped tunnel, Yukari quietly closed the small manhole cover to the hole they climbed into.

Moka quickly noticed they were in the secret tunnels that Ginei and Haiji always used to spy on the girl's locker room. "Got to hand it to you Yukari," she said with her nose plugged, "no one would look for us here."

Bythuss sniffed them out from above, though the bodies everywhere made it difficult to find them.

"That smoke _stunk_…" Kokoa said upside-down, squished against the narrow tunnel walls. "What was it anyways?"

Yukari tried to scoot down the tunnel to make some room. "It was meant to be the catalyst for the Horehore-kun I was making."

"Another invention?" Kokoa spat.

"Yeah, removes a person's sense of reasoning and causes them to act on their deepest desires. It acts sort of like an Aphrodisiac."

Kokoa made a dry stare. "What were you planning to do with-"

"If you two haven't noticed," Moka interrupted them, "Ruby is hurt here." She had already torn off both her uniform's sleeves to bandage Ruby's wounds.

Ruby had a massive cut along her right torso and shoulder. Her right arm was dead weight and she couldn't move it. She was bleeding madly, and had already lost conscienceless.

"I hope there's an invention on you that can help her." Kokoa said to Yukari.

"No inventions, but I got a spell to close up the wound." Yukari brought out her wand. "I'm not sure if it'll do much good though, it doesn't close cuts very tightly, and I've never used it bef-"

"Then just try it!" Moka pleaded. "She's losing blood!"

XXX

**Akuha**

The dust cleared where she had punched. There was nothing but a hole in the ground. "Huh?" It wasn't possible for Talia to have moved so fast on her own. To the far corner of the courtyard stood Ginei with Talia in his arms.

(_Talia is dressed in the academy uniform again_.)

Talia hugged Ginei and buried her face against his chest. She began to cry, as if in too great a shock to speak to him clearly. "She's… she's a murderer…" she whispered, which actually wasn't far from the truth.

"Don't listen to her, Ginei!" Akuha spread her arms out for combat. "Whatever your relationship, I can tell you that she's not who you think she is!"

Ginei ignored the warning. Whether Akuha really was the killer or not, she had tried to harm one of his friends, and that was enough for him. "I guess it was as I feared." He set Talia down and stepped forward. "Get out of here, pretty bird. I'll stop her."

Talia lightly tugged on Ginei's arm, suggesting that she didn't want him to fight. "It may be a misunderstanding. Are you certain you don't wish to hear her out first?"

Ginei thought of how he first met Akuha. He didn't like her then, he didn't like her when she broke his nose, and he didn't like all the attention she was always getting. "Positive."

"But you're a good person Gin." Talia seemed genuinely sad. "I don't want you to get hurt on my behalf."

Ginei brushed her aside without looking at her. "It's okay. I never liked Akuha anyways." He snapped his knuckles together. "Now run. You don't need to worry about the top dog."

Talia made a disappointed look. "If that is what you choose." She turned and began to leave.

Akuha stepped forward, but Ginei stood in her way. "Ginei, I know this'll sound crazy, but that French girl is the one causing this catastrophe!"

"Don't joke around. Only an S-rank yōkai could pull this off!"

"She didn't cause this directly! She tricked half the students in the school to kill each other!"

Ginei didn't look amused. "And here I heard that the black devil was a good liar."

Akuha tried to calm herself down and think. While she could manipulate Yukari during the mind-switching fiasco, she didn't fully understand Ginei. Atop of that, between a socially awkward contract killer and an ideal charming woman it was clear who appeared more trustworthy. "Look, I _swear_ I didn't do this! While we stand here and argue, the real killer-"

Ginei made a thunderous howl as he transformed into a werewolf. "You won't convince me to step aside!" He pointed straight at her. "Besides, I'll bet the _real_ reason why you want to hurt her so badly is that her boobs are bigger!"

Akuha's cheeks turned red in embarrassment. "What? Breasts have nothing to do with this!"

"Who're you tying to kid? You have a chest of an Eleven year old _boy_!"

Akuha covered herself in a defensive manner. "My chest isn't _that_ small!"

"Roses are red, tires are black, why is your chest as flat as your back?"

Akuha's eyes were wide, looking utterly speechless. "Ah… de… ga…" She tightened her fists and felt something snap inside. "I'm gonna _kill_ you for that!" In a blink of an eye, she dashed forward to attack.

Ginei moved so fast he practically disappeared. "Hey," he was heard yelling, "what're you doing over there?"

Akuha turned around. She and Ginei stood at opposite sides of the courtyard. "Even for a werewolf, that was fast…" she whispered to herself. If there were any yōkai she had trouble fighting in the past, they were werewolves. Though significantly weaker than vampires, their natural speed was ludicrous. Given a choice she'd rather fight another vampire.

"You don't stand a chance." Ginei said with an arm raised, "I could have groped you five times by now if I wasn't holding back!" He sped all over the courtyard like a ricocheting bullet.

Akuha closed her eyes to calm down and concentrate. Getting angry would only throw her off. She extended both arms out and relaxed them, moving them evenly in a firm circumference around herself. "Control everything in your arm's reach… stand and wait in the river's path."

Ginei ran everywhere around her to throw her off. Tables and chairs were knocked away like popcorn. "I wouldn't keep my eyes closed if I were you!" He went in for the attack, moving too fast for most vampires to react.

Akuha palm stuck Ginei in the face, bringing him to a dead stop.

"Youch!" Ginei flipped backwards and landed at the opposite side of the courtyard again. "If I can't get close…" He reached down to grab the rocks and dirt below him. He suddenly began to throw them with astonishing speed, firing them like a machine gun. A literal sideways-waterfall of rocks came at Akuha without tire.

Akuha only continued to slowly rotate her arms around herself. The very moment a stone came within her arm's reach, she instantly struck it down with the tips of her fingers. Her arms moved like blurs in front of her while the rest of her body relaxed as if asleep. She jabbed every one of the _thousands_ of stones coming at her on pure instinct.

Ginei stopped to catch his breath, surrounded by a moat he had created. "This girl can block…" The very last of the stones he had thrown came flying back at him. He took it straight to the snout.

Akuha opened her eyes after throwing the stone. Her calm expression faded. "Your natural speed is fine, you just lack any real combat training.

Ginei tried another tactic, this time running around Akuha like a small tornado and throwing rocks at her as he ran. Akuha just relaxed herself again and blocked every stone, even the ones behind her back. Out of the blue she suddenly stomped on the ground. As Ginei began to wonder why, he felt himself trip over a newly made fracture in the ground and went tumbling into a brick wall.

Akuha pealed Ginei from the wall and threw him. He was sent tumbling along the dirt until he lay there in pain. "Had enough?" Akuha said spitefully, "I certainly hope not!"

Ginei struggled to get up, knowing he was in trouble. So far he couldn't land one hit on Akuha. "I can't beat her like this, I have to think of something."

Akuha looked surprised as she saw Ginei run away. He just ran to the nearest exit and left the courtyard entirely. "Well…" Akuha said awkwardly, "I never took him for a coward…" She looked around from corner to corner of the courtyard. "Now then, where did Talia run off to?" A few seconds past before she began to hear a soft noise behind her. She spun around and saw Ginei charging at her from the opposite side of courtyard. He struck her, too fast to see with what or where. He left the courtyard again, before Akuha's feet even came off the ground.

Though the sky was black and no moon was shining, Ginei accelerated to speeds comparable to what he could run at under a full moon, simply by pushing himself _that much_.

Akuha's boots touched down and slid along the dirt. Before she could even stand back up, she was struck again by a blur that came and left the courtyard instantly.

Ginei zoomed another lap around the entire campus in less than a second and came back to deal another blow. Large quantities of Antridermis flowed from him, using adrenaline and willpower alone to push his body beyond its safe limits. His body was probably already tearing itself apart by now.

Akuha couldn't block Ginei. Him coming and leaving was effectively resetting her ability to read his movements. "Ow! Gah! Omph! Argh!" She was knocked off the ground and landed in a crouching position. Ginei wasn't hurting her much; in fact he was probably a greater danger to himself. As much as it would please Akuha to watch him die, he was only being misled.

Ginei passed by the math building, the gym, the office, the library, the infirmary, the cafeteria, and arrived behind Akuha again. As he tried to hit her, he suddenly went _through_ her as if she weren't there. He began to move away from her until she wrapped both arms around his chest and pulled him backwards, causing them to fall. Akuha landed flat on her back with Ginei restrained on top of her. "Ahh! Let me go!" Ginei howled.

"What's the problem?" Akuha laughed, "I thought you'd like to be on top!" She curled her left leg around Ginei's and bent it the wrong way. She pushed him aside, confident he was no longer a threat. She had a strong desire to break the rest of Ginei's limbs just for the fun of it, but tried to resist the urge. She had more important things to worry about. "Did I just make a corny one-liner?"

Ginei got on his palms in a handstand. He sped forward by hand walking and kicked with his good leg.

Akuha effortlessly moved her head to avoid it. "You don't give up easily." She grabbed Ginei by the ankle and held him up. She began to punch him over and over against the chest, hitting him forward and letting gravity lob him back like a punching bag. A smile of enjoyment slowly crept across her face. Hearing someone she didn't like cry out in pain was always something that entertained her.

Ginei landed in the dirt, battered and bruised. "Okay! Okay!" He raised a hand up. "I give…"

Akuha ignored his plea and kicked his head like a football.

Ginei landed again, his vision was getting blurry. "I said you win! You already-"

Akuha stomped onto his chest and pressed him into the ground. She felt strange sensation of pleasure as she began to crush him. She could barley help herself whenever she got this way. She brought her fist over him with the middle segments of her fingers forward. "This won't kill you, it'll just paralyze you for life." Her fist shot downwards.

"That's enough, Akuha!"

Akuha stopped her fist an inch from Ginei's chest. "Talia?" She turned her head and looked up.

Talia looked down at them from the edge of a rooftop. In her hand was the shimmering green crystal. "The poor gentleman can't even fight back. Are you not aware that he is one of Moka and Tsukune's friends? They would be more or less upset if you harmed him any more than you needed too." Talia sat down and dangled her legs off the roof. "I had hoped you would show more self-control than this."

Akuha stepped away from a dazed Ginei. "Even though you tricked him into attacking me in the first place."

"To an extent… yes, but I only needed you two to fight; anything beyond that would be unnecessary." Talia swung her legs back and forth. "It would be such a shame if Gin were to be killed or crippled. He may be a colossal pervert, but he can also be a good and loyal friend."

Akuha lifted a brow. "You fell for him by mistake?" she joked, "I know what that feels like."

Talia made a cheery laugh. "I was open to the idea actually. I am for _every_ boy I meet." She went from laughing to giggling. "But alas, I don't think he's my type. I'd prefer a modest, more respectful man." She passed the green crystal to her other hand and back. "Shy men can be adorable, can they not?"

Akuha leapt straight up and landed on the roof. "I'd love to talk more about boys with you…" Talia stood up next to her. "But I'm not gonna let you distract me with a conversation while you set up a scheme…" she drew her hand back, "again." She punched and held nothing back. A shockwave erupted and half the roof was blown away around her.

Talia remained where she was without a scratch. The green crystal she once held had grown into a humanoid shape and was standing on the roof in front of her. It had caught her fist with only one hand.

"What the?" Akuha tried to pull her fist back, but the blob had unimaginable strength.

Talia reached into her purse and brought out a second egg-shaped green crystal; the real one. "You know…" She took a few steps away and daydreamed into the sky. "Yōkai Academy certainly is wonderful. It is place of enlightenment; a place of harmony." She looked back at Akuha over her shoulder. "There are good people here, and personally I would rather have left this place intact for their sake." She looked back at the crystal she held. It illuminated brightly over her face. "There were many ways in which I could have gathered the Antridermis I needed. Formerly, I sought to take my time and simply watch arbitrary fights; maybe orchestrate one or two." She opened a palm towards the creature that held Akuha. "But as you can see, an associate of mine has grown restless."

The blob quickly took a solid shape and its colors blend in, changing into a nightmarish creature in scarlet armor. Akuha fell to her knee in pain as it squeezed harder on her hand. It was easily crushing her bones like a soda can.

"I believe you and Dythe are already acquainted." Talia said. Unlike her usual expression, she wasn't smiling at all. "The overseer brought him back to life, though he couldn't keep him under control."

Akuha used the Jigen-Tou technique to slice off the creature's arm. It worked, but the disembodied arm clutched her hand anyways. It began to squeeze harder as she tried to pull it off with her other hand.

"_I_ on the other hand had no such problems… at least not after I mentioned your name."

Akuha finally pulled Dythe's hand off and tossed it aside. It slithered back to Dythe.

"You can imagine that he was _very_ anxious to see you again." Talia eyed the walking nightmare in front of her. "Seeing how impatient and wild he was getting, I knew it wouldn't be long before he could no longer restrain himself, therefore…" She looked around at the fires all over campus. "I had to settle with this scenario instead."

Akuha felt her right hand. It was crushed, and almost unusable.

"This may get things done faster, but Dythe killing any students against my orders would cause there to be less Antridermis to gather." Talia held up the green crystal and stared into it. "On the off-chance of this contingency I saw fit to stage a quarrel between you and Gin in advance to make up for it…" She put the crystal in her purse. "Just in case." She looked back at Akuha. "It is as I said, I only needed you two to fight, nothing more."

Akuha made a horizontal Jigen-Tou strike. She intended to slice through Dythe and chop Talia in half behind him in one swing, but her attack didn't stretch as far as she hoped. She just couldn't pull off a long ranged one like she did four weeks ago. Dythe tackled her before she could try another one, pushing her across the roof until they both fell into the large entrance courtyard.

Ginei finally regained consciousness and got on his knees. "Irena?" he coughed from below, "What're you…"

Talia looked over her shoulder. "Please Gin…" Her usual black dress formed over her school uniform. "My true name is Talia Danican Philidor."

Akuha was thrown into the entrance courtyard like an asteroid, but managed to flip and land on two legs. The ground below her cracked as she hit the ground. "I just _had_ to be curious didn't I?" She stood up and made her accustomed fighting stance. The hideous creature lay on all fours like a lizard in front of her. Both of them remained before the flaming school. The curtains were raised now.

Talia moved to another rooftop and sat down, holding a fork and a small plate with a cake slice on it. "Be vigilant, Akuha. Dythe's desire to fight you was what I used to control him. He will not stop even if I told him to, not when you're his opponent."

Dythe made a deafening high-pitch scream with likeness to a Nazgûl.

Akuha felt her ears ring. "Want me to kill you again? _Fine_!" Another roar was heard behind her, though this one sounded like a ferocious dinosaur. "No way…" Her blood ran cold at sight of a second creature. While Dythe had tall straight horns and neon red skin below its armor, this new one had curled ram-horns and neon blue skin.

Dythe _and_ Bythuss let out their diverse roars and charged her.

"This may prove interesting." Talia said as she watched zealously, "For an admittedly brilliant fighter, one thing you've never been, Akuha… is boring."

XXX

To be continued in next chapter…

* * *

**Remember the Horehore-kun? It's the device Yukari uses to make Moka go berserk in volume 2, chapter 1 of the manga.**


	30. Chpt 30: Inferno

**Despite how long it's been, I haven't spent much time on this chapter. I just could never get myself started no matter how hard I pushed myself to. When I finally did, I was more focused on getting this done rather than making it any good.**

**Sorry, but I had to dumb this chapter down to a high degree. A_ ton_ of interesting stuff I had planned for the fight had to be canceled or I'd never finish. I want to move on with this thing already…**

* * *

I was a member of Fairy Tale for quite a while. Many considered me to one of its best fighters, second or third to Gyokuro herself. Being a vampire, there weren't a lot of people that surpassed my natural strength. A few of Fairy Tale's champions and branch leaders did, but I more than made up for that by being _way_ better trained, and even if that wasn't enough, I had the Jigen-Tou technique. Given my specialty, I rose through the ranks quickly, earned respect, and made quite a name for myself. Can you guess what kind of service I offered to pull that off?

I can't remember how many times a mobster or revenge-sickened kid would yell 'you killed whats-his-name' before swinging a machete at me. I just didn't have it in me to respond with 'can you be more specific?' I killed so many people that I damned near treated it like a sport. Granted, I only thought that way about mobsters, the mafia, or anyone else who actually _wanted_ trouble, but that didn't stop me from killing anyone that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Whether in service to Fairy Tale or because someone looked at me funny, I reckon I've killed more people than I've drank cups of juice.

Yeah… that pretty much sums up the last seven years of my life; kill, kill, kill, but I don't really remember much of it. There were a few things that were memorable, like that guy I beat up by slapping him with a squid, the crazy kid with the bending spoon, or the wrinkly old lady in that 'Dingy Dog' suit that proved as good at fighting as I was. When I think 'the last seven years', the image of that gigantic underwater city always came to mind. That's where most of my kills went down, that's where I fought my strongest opponents, and that's where I discovered how costly pride could be.

Come to think of it, Clíodhna was also the place where Talia signed up to join Fairy Tale three years ago. The more I think about it, the more I think that it doesn't make sense. Why would a radical yōkai supremacy group attack a yōkai school? Seeing as how Fairy Tale wants to wipe out humans and secure yōkai dominance in the world, it would be in their best interest to _protect_ this school rather than blow it up. Were they after the Rosary or Judgment? Did Mikogami already cross them without me knowing? Am I not thinking hard enough? That would be a first… queue the eye-roll.

Gyokuro was obviously after Moka's blood again, but the 'blow up the school' part may be Talia on her own accord. Each branch is free to go about their business after all, and 'hell-on-heels' clearly has an agenda of her own. Time and time again she talked about humans with admiration and respect. She seemed to deeply care about humans, and yet she joined an organization devoted to wiping them out.

Doesn't add up now does it?

XXX

**Yōkai Academy**

Akuha tackled Dythe, the red one. It barley slid back and made an amused snarl. While it didn't quite have a face, it felt as if it were smiling at her. It shoved her back, halfway between it and Bythuss, the blue one. Akuha flipped backwards and kicked at both of the creatures while upside-down. Bythuss moved its head aside while Dythe just swatted her out of the air.

Akuha tumbled away and landed on her back. Even as a vampire, that single hit took a lot out of her. "Okay…" She groaned as she stood up. "This time there's two of these things, and I only got one good hand."

Bythuss crawled forward like a scorpion and bent one of its legs at her like a stinger. It moved faster than she could see, but was still able to block it with the technique she used for striking down rocks earlier.

"Youch!" Akuha certainly blocked it, but she felt the bones in her hand _snap_. She stumbled back, now without any good hands. "Just fantastic!" she yelled furiously. Both creatures sped around her and attacked relentlessly, their movements mimicking a different yōkai or animal after each hit. Akuha tried to dodge, but wasn't fast enough. She tried to delay her existence, but couldn't concentrate. She'd try to fight back, but her fists would meet the likeness of a solid wall. Bythuss double kicked her below the chin like a donkey and sent her flying like a rag doll. This fight was completely hopeless. It was like trying to fight two vampires alone in Yukari's body.

"Akuha!" Talia yelled from the rooftops. She urgently pointed towards the ground. "Kokoa's bat! Use it!"

Akuha spotted a large mace, partially submerged into the ground nearby. She didn't have the luxury to suspect this was a trick, nor to question how it got there. She ran towards it with both abominations slithering after her. She dived for it as Dythe sprang above her like a pouncing lion.

WHACK

Akuha swung the mace and smashed Dythe away like a baseball. From the corner of her eye, she saw Bythuss leaping at her like a jumping spider. She couldn't move the enormous mace quick enough.

Talia's eyes lit up with amusement while she finished the last of her cake. "Brilliant, Akuha." Down below, Bythuss was batted away by a Bō Staff, a faster and less clumsy weapon than the sluggish mace. "Adaptability, focus, long-term thinking; truly exemplary. You are not the strongest or fastest of Fairy Tale, but you are the best."

Now armed with a Bō Staff, Akuha spun Kokoa's bat from shoulder-to-shoulder faster than helicopter blades. She slammed one end of the long staff onto the ground in front of her. "An entire armory of melee weapons…" she whispered, the same words as when she had first seen the bat, just before Moka's tenth birthday.

Dythe's right arm changed into a doubled-bladed sword and dashed in a bipedal manner. Akuha rotated the staff like an electronic fan and made an ear-shattering blow onto the top of its head. Bythuss hopped over its partner and hurled its blade at her. Akuha blocked it with the staff and the ground cracked beneath her. Thankfully Kokoa's bat was sturdier than she thought.

Bythuss kicked Akuha forward and sent her sliding on her back. She flipped backwards off the ground and jabbed the staff into the ground, balancing upside-down on top of it like it were a flagpole. As Bythuss galloped on all-fours at her, Akuha flipped forward with the staff and smashed him from above. "Heh, if I got into trouble like this more often, I'd use weapons _all_ the time."

The creatures retreated back, one shrieking like a gorilla, the other making a werewolf howl. They both looked noticeably bruised and dented.

"Be vigilant, my friend." Talia said, lying on her side. "The overseer erased their weakness to fire, even so, they are far from invulnerable." She sat upright with a serious look. "If ever struck, limited supplies of compressed accumulated cells from consumed biomass mend their injuries instantaneously," she said _very_ quickly, "however, their bodies become unstable when it depletes. In other words, you _can_ kill if you keep hitting them, but they will fight at top condition without any sign of injury until the moment they're dead."

Akuha could only catch half of what was said. "Thanks…" she growled sarcastically, "I'll try to keep all that in mind."

XXX

**Secret Tunnels**

Moka, Yukari, and Kokoa crawled along the cramped tunnels, pulling along a blood-soaked mat with Ruby on it. The air grew thicker with smoke as they got closer to the girl's locker room. The girls coughed loudly, hardly able to breathe.

"I thought smoke traveled up." Yukari chocked out.

"It's possible that burning debris fell in the tunnel." Moka said, leading them, "This tunnel leads under a building that's probably on fire."

"Then we can't keep going this way." Kokoa said with her nose plugged. Being an unsealed vampire, her sense of smell was the most sensitive. "We're going to suffocate down here."

The smoke made Yukari's eyes water. "What do you suggest then? Go back and let the tenth Zodiac kill us?"

"No. We make our own exit." Kokoa pushed up against the tunnel ceiling. It held firm at first, but started to loosen up. At the sign of light through a small fissure, she started punching at it.

"Go Kokoa, go!" Yukari chocked out.

The tunnel caved in from _above_ and a huge hand reached down to grab at them. "They're down here!" the voice of a golem declared. He pulled his arm back and water poured into the tunnel. Moka and Kokoa felt a paralyzing sting as they were soaked. The golem's hand returned and pulled Kokoa up by the head.

Yukari and Moka screamed in panic, separated by the tunnel opening between them. "Why?" Yukari whined, "Why does Kokoa always get beaten to show how tough the bad-guys are?" Kokoa was heard struggling from above.

"That's not the right girl." hissed a goblin-like voice, "You all remember Gyokuro's orders, we need the pink haired one."

Moka recognized that voice. It was the greasy midget that kidnapped her when the school year began. "Yukari," Moka said firmly, "take Ruby and go back the way we came! I'll keep going down the tunnel."

Yukari shook her head. "No way! We're sticking togeth-"

"I'm the one they're after!" Moka shouted, "Just get out of here, find Tsukune or Akuha, _and then_ come and help me!" She turned and crawled further into the tunnel without looking back. Hands of many different yōkai fished around her, behind, in front, and above her shoulders. She tried not to scream.

"Dig up the whole courtyard if you have to!" Galvinro yelled to his men.

The whole roof of the tunnel came straight up and was tossed aside. Men wearing suits stepped down into the trench, holding what looked like pellet guns.

Moka curled into a ball and shivered as she was surrounded. "Does the _whole world_ want to kidnap me?" she groaned.

XXX

**Entrance Courtyard**

The Bō Staff Akuha held split into thirds connected by short chains, becoming a three-section staff. She threw them around herself the way Bruce Lee would handle nunchucks, except much faster. She ran towards the horned demons to continue the fight.

Talia dangled her legs back and forth off the side of the roof, baring her ever-friendly smile. "Ah, ever reminiscent Capaneus," she whispered as she watched Akuha, "a warrior of great strength condemned to walk the seventh circle for the conduct of pride." The thick smoke blackened the sky, fires burnt all around. "The circle of violence… where those violent against people, property, and thyself reside. Guarded by the Minotaur, who snarls in fury, encircled within the boiling river of blood, Phlegethon."

The horned demons pounded Akuha's weapon with their arms changed to organic, fleshy axes. Dythe tackled her off her feat and through one of the school's smoldering walls. She tumbled through the burning desks and chairs in classroom, which was entirely ablaze from top to bottom. Dythe stood from the opening in the wall, completely on fire, but not the least bit affected by it.

Talia watched as the entire side of the building caved in. "Goodness gracious." she said, mildly startled.

Akuha lay partially buried in the debris. She nearly jumped to the sound of Dythe bursting from the rubble behind her, screeching at her on all-fours like a feral animal. Akuha quickly padded around for Kokoa's bat. She found it, but couldn't pull it from the rubble in its hefty staff form.

Talia looked from Akuha, to a fresh apple she held in her hand. "Did God give us violence? Did we make it ourselves?" She took a bite from the apple she had picked from a tree. "Perhaps we have the serpent to thank for that." She grinned. "The Devil."

Akuha changed the bat into a much smaller weapon, a Tonfa, and swung it at Dythe before he struck. Bythuss swung its double-blade at her from behind in outrage of its damaged brother. "A Tonfa won't block that…" She changed Kokoa's bat into a Tessen (_steel fan_) and used it as a shield. She cut Bythuss along the waist and closed the fan, changing it to the likeness of a Poleaxe or a Glaive. Both Capricorns made wide swings with their massive double-blades as she whirled the Glaive everywhere, clashing back-and-forth between their swords. Their choreography picked up and moved so fast that only blurs could be seen.

Akuha felt the Capricorns' movements significantly speed up, apparently fed up with toying with her. Their blades suddenly shred through her torso, arms, and legs like chainsaws. Blood leaked out of her like a fountain.

Talia covered her mouth to contain her shock. "Oh my!" Akuha slid backwards and dropped to one knee. All over her were countless open wounds. "Are you alright, Black Devil? Can you still fight?"

Akuha panted and coughed. Her vision was getting beyond blurry. "_Why the hell would you care_?" she raged.

Dythe and Bythuss made sounds that were… _probably_ cackling. They seemed to have absorbed a lot of knowledge about Kenjutsu and Sōjutsu, not quite at master-level, but they sure knew how to use those weapons. During this short time fighting them, Akuha could tell they were sharing information, like how single-celled organisms would pass on immunity to a vaccine.

As Akuha tried to stand, she reached into one of her coat pockets. "I'd better not break this." She pulled out Belmont, the multi-billion dollar whip Moka had handed her earlier. As it was worth more than the entire school and its assets, she decided to use it only in an emergency. This situation was as such. "If I still can't beat them, it's all over. This is the last card I've got." She changed Kokoa's bat into a Chinese broadsword in her right hand and lashed out with Belmont with her left.

_SLAP_!

"Ow!" Akuha buried her nose into her arm. A red line was drawn down the middle of her face by the whip's backlash. Perhaps she was better off without it? "It's been six years since I've used one of these damned things!"

The Capricorns moved towards her like coordinated wolves. With some familiar hand motions, Akuha pitched the whip at Dythe. It wrapped around his neck before a jerk of the handle threw him through a building wall. Akuha then high-kicked Bythuss up and away from her, throwing the whip at him as it wrapped around both his ankles. She yanked the creature back at her and impaled the broadsword through his face. She pulled both arms outward, the whip around his ankles and the sword through his head, ripping him in two down the waist and tossing both halves aside.

Talia smiled and silently applauded. It was as if this were nothing more than gladiators in a coliseum to her, and for whatever reason, she cheered when _Akuha_ got the upper hand. Her happy expression faded when she noticed someone else in the courtyard.

A confused Mizore stood near the charcoaled bushes, staring at the bizarre red creature in the distance. She had gone looking for Tsukune after growing more worried, and just didn't know what to make of what she stumbled upon. "Mmm?" She leapt back at the sight of a similar blue creature, the upper half of it anyways, growling at her from the ground.

Bythuss' lower half slithered towards the rest of himself like a swarm of beetles. Both halves mixed together like liquid and shaped into its bipedal state. He turned towards the Yuki-Onna with eagerness.

Seeing how unfriendly the creature looked, Mizore tried to freeze it. Bythuss broke through the ice like paper and shoved his foot against her stomach, firing her at the school building like a bullet. Mizore slid down the wall and fell to the ground unconscious. The creature quickly approached swinging its double-blade forward.

Bythuss froze halfway through his attack. "_Stop_!" Talia yelled with her arms raised, standing between him and Mizore. It stared at Talia for a moment, growling in anger, before turning away to rejoin its brother. It looked incredibly pissed.

Dythe changed his arm into a 10-foot long blade and tried to impale Akuha high above him. Akuha landed the broadsword onto the blade with her feet on it like a skateboard, grinding down the blade as if it were a railing and kicking Dythe's head clear off his shoulders.

Akuha snickered briefly as Dythe's head roared at his body, trying to tell it where he was as it reached around searching. Her fun was cut short when she felt Bythuss leaping at her from behind. A broadsword wouldn't stop him, she needed a weapon with more of a 'slap' to it.

A thunderous 'clap' noise echoed as Bythuss was knocked away. He landed and stood up, catching sight of a surfboard in Akuha's hands. The way he froze and began staring suggested he was probably baffled beneath his scarlet exoskeleton.

Akuha felt irritated by the creature's stare. "What?" she yelled angrily, "I had to think fast!" She looked from her opponent to the surfboard under her arm. Until now, she thought the bat could only change into weapons… but then again… in the right hands _anything_ could be considered a weapon.

Talia clapped and giggled as playfully as ever. "I'm sorry, but there's hilarity in your most recent weapon of choice." Her smile faded into a bothered look. "Hmm?" She looked over her shoulder.

Ghoul Tsukune came running straight at Talia, having recognized her from the airship. "Hold it right there!" He reached for her as she opened her wingspan and leapt away.

Akuha heard a loud tearing noise. She turned and looked. "Ai…" her eyes went wide, "_ya_~" Tsukune had accidentally ripped the upper half of Talia's dress off.

"Ahh!" Talia cried. "Did I miscalculate? I was _sure_ you weren't a pervert." Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as she tried to cover herself.

Tsukune stood completely motionless, utterly stunned by what he was staring at. "Nope, I didn't see anything!" He quickly turned his head to the side. "Cherries… cherries… those were just…" He began to experience a huge nosebleed. "Cherries…" The ripped dress in his hand crumbled into black feathers and fell to the ground.

New black feathers formed over Talia's chest and changed into a laced bra. "I'll need another cake for my dress…"

Akuha tore her view from the awkward picture and noticed Bythuss staring at Talia's 'rack' like in a trance. "Huh?" Akuha slowly smiled, detecting a side effect to all those minds he absorbed.

Bythuss was abruptly smashed into the ground by a mace bigger than he was.

"Too many teenaged boys in your diet?" Akuha yelled above Bythuss, clubbing and flattening him with a giant mace. "You are what you eat, you pervert!" She continued to bash him into pancake like no tomorrow.

Tsukune wiped his nose and noticed that Talia was gone. "Great…" He gazed into the courtyard and noticed the red Capricorn padding around for his head. Dythe's fingers finally came across his head, stiffing-up in excitement and then attempting to pick it up. "Kickoff!" Tsukune hurriedly kicked Dythe's head away like a soccer ball.

Dythe chased after it with his hands forward. Just as he was about to reach it, the whip Belmont wrapped around one of its horns and dragged it away. He turned and continued to chase it.

Akuha yanked the head towards herself and caught it, letting go of the mace and leaving it on the twitching sludge that was once Bythuss. "Tsuk!" She dropkicked the head past Dythe and back to Tsukune. "Keep his head away from him!"

Tsukune jumped up and let the head bounce off his chest and land in front of him. "Got it!"

Dythe stopped in front of Akuha at a complete loss of where his head went. Akuha tossed Belmont aside, grabbed Kokoa's mace, and proceeded to beat the crap out of her opponent with it.

Tsukune watched with enthusiasm until he noticed that Dythe's head started moving on its own.

Eight long spider-legs plucked out of the head and touched down. It rose up and started walking towards its body.

Tsukune felt his stomach turn. "You gotta' be freakin' kidding…" he said, outright nauseated.

Dythe's body was knocked to the ground, not far from his head. He turned over and tried to grab it, only to have Tsukune slide-kick it away. The head rolled away until Akuha mauled it with Kokoa's mace, splattering it like a bug. In blind fury, Dythe slithered towards his brother. Just as Bythuss had reshaped himself and stood up, Dythe grabbed him. The red Capricorn's upper torso opened up like the jaws of a snapping turtle and devoured his brother viciously.

Tsukune covered his mouth. "I think I'm gonna' be sick!"

Dythe grew a new head and drastically bulked up. It was like his muscle mass doubled beneath his exoskeleton… assuming he had muscles. The creature looked at Tsukune with hungry eyes. It leaned towards him and seemingly disappeared.

"Tsukune!" Akuha bumped Tsukune aside as the creature charged at him. She let out a blood-muffled yelp as the creature ran its hand straight through her, just above the stomach and out through her back.

"Oh my God…" Tsukune abandoned any feelings of queasiness or panic and stood back up. "Let her go! _Now_!" He ran at the creature.

Dythe pulled his arm out of Akuha and let her drop to the ground. He made an ear-shattering scream at Tsukune that sent him off his feet.

Tsukune landed unfazed and immediately continued charging again. His eyes turned glowing blood red, pushing his ghoul powers further than ever before. "Take this!" His fist landed dead center on Dythe's face, yet the creature remained as still as a rock.

Dythe let out short bursts of guttural noises, sounding like he was chuckling. He brought his finger up and lightly poked Tsukune against his forehead.

Tsukune was knocked away and fell on his back. The middle of his forehead bled. "D- damn it…" He tried to stand up, but that single 'attack' blew the living daylights out of him. His head was spinning.

Dythe stood over Tsukune, unimpressed, before finally raising his raptor-like foot and crushing him under a stomp. A massive shockwave exploded outward, blowing out every fire around them instantly. The front side of Tsukune's shirt completely deteriorated into dust right off of his chest. Dythe scoffed at his motionless opponent before turning away, more interested in devouring Akuha's body.

At where Akuha had fallen was instead the start of a short trail of blood. Even with a gapping hole in her chest, she was _still_ clinging to life, trying to crawl away. She looked back as she noticed Dythe coming her way.

A roar that split the heavens was suddenly heard… but it didn't come from Dythe.

"Tsu… Tsukune?" Akuha managed to choke out.

Tsukune stood up, completely undamaged and entirely… _different_. His skin had turned jet-black, his hair turned silver. Four noticeably long fangs grew from his mouth, and large black bat wings manifested from his back. Red glowing crevices ran all over his body like the surface of an erupting volcano. The top of his shoulders, his breast, and his six-pack abs each shined like a wicked sun. He let loose another roar, even more ferocious than the Capricorn's.

(_Look at the manga, volume 2, chapter 41 if you haven't seen Tsukune's 'Jet-Black Demon' look or want to keep it fresh in mind_.)

Akuha couldn't believe what she was seeing, or rather, feeling. Though she had never actually seen one in battle, she knew from the bottom of her gut that this enhanced vampiric aura she could feel was a Shinso's. Even while on the verge of death, she couldn't ignore the dark aura that swamped the courtyard if she tried to. "But… how do _you_ have it?"

Dythe bolted at him swinging its double-blade as Tsukune brought his arm up. The sword shattered against his wrist like fragile glass. He threw a punch, hitting dead center on Dythe's face like before, except this time knocking his head loose. The creature quickly felt every part of its body flatten, stretch, and strain as if oil tankers were landing on it. Dythe literally pulled himself together and tied to tackle Tsukune. The two of them wrestled against each other, dead even in terms of brute strength.

Akuha marveled at the power she felt surging through Tsu- the air- the scho- "Screw it…" The demonic aura surged in all directions _forever_. This was the power of a Shinso; the power she once planned to kill Moka's mother over. "But that's not possible," Akuha thought, unable to vocally speak, "Tsuk got his vampire blood from Moka, and she's a normal vampire like I am. This power is passed on by consuming the last Shinso's blood, not through heredity."

Whether it was because Tsukune was near death, or because he had pushed his ghoul powers too far, the Shinso blood Moka had unknowingly given him had awakened. His demonic aura spiked up, and he began to gain the upper hand. He shoved Dythe to the dirt and punched him into the ground, making an even _larger_ shockwave than Dythe's stomp.

Akuha took a long, hard look at Tsukune. While certainly incredible, she couldn't decide if he was scary, or really, _really_ sexy in this form. "Stop it. Now's not the time."

Dythe morphed his arm into an axe, but Tsukune grabbed it and swiftly ripped it off. He swung Dythe's own weapon at him, only for it to absorb into him like water to a sponge. Dythe grew back his arm through the _front_ of his chest and punched Tsukune away. Tsukune opened his wingspan as a parachute and sprung back. Everything under the school's barrier trembled as they clashed.

Akuha slowly started to blackout from all the lost blood. Sure vampires were tough, and none of her vital organs were damaged, but a hole through her stomach was still a bit much. She felt her hand fall onto a syringe.

Dythe tumbled over the dirt, this time not getting up. Tsukune began to pursue until the holy lock on his wrist 'clicked'. The dark form that encased him suddenly started to shatter away, revealing his normal self beneath it. His demonic aura was no longer felt through the air. Did his Shinso blood wear out? Did it shutdown now that its host was healed? Did the holy lock reactivate? There was no way to know for sure, but whatever the case, he had turned back to normal and fell to the ground unconscious. There wasn't a scratch on him, but he looked tired.

Dythe tried to stand so he could finish Tsukune off, but even he was on his last legs. He took a few short steps before a staff knocked him away.

Akuha stood there with Kokoa's bat in one hand, and six empty syringes in the other. She calmly dropped the syringes as the substance she had taken coursed through her. Forget not feeling pain; she felt like she was on a sugar-rush despite the hole in her stomach; she hardly noticed it there anymore. "Huh?" She eyed her 'staff' and noticed it was really a broom. "What the…" She raddled it and focused on the image of a Bō Staff. It changed into a golf flag. Maybe the substance she took was making her mind cloudy.

Dythe was already too worn to strike back, and just roared as it failed to get up. It looked around for something to quickly eat.

Akuha charged at Dythe with what she meant to be a mace, but became a giant rolling pin. "Dang it!" She hit him, changed the weapon again, and got a ladle this time. "Err…" She decided to give up as she went on with using maracas connected by a string as nunchucks.

Dythe roared and screamed as he was drilled into the ground by a giant _kitchen mixer_.

XXX

Akuha panted and gagged on the courtyard soil as the substance she had taken had worn off. Dythe twitched and moaned next to her. Neither of them could finish the other off.

"Good heavens!" said an excited voice, "I always knew you were brilliant, but even with the wounds you've sustained, I'm impressed beyond words!"

Akuha looked to see Talia approaching them. She bore a gentle smile and had regrown her dress as it was.

"I admit, I had gotten a little worried for your well-being once or twice," Talia made a deep exhale, "but I digress. I didn't come here for entertainment." She brought up her right arm. A short hidden blade emerged out of her frilled sleeve under her wrist. The blade was silver.

Akuha couldn't move in her condition. If Talia wanted to kill her, nothing was going to stop her.

Dythe roared for the last time as Talia stabbed him instead. He shriveled up like a plant that had been poisoned and finally expired.

Talia stood back up and noticed the way Akuha looked at the blade. "What? Did you think this blade was meant for you?" The blade retracted into her sleeve. "I'd be insulted if you thought my actions derived from something as frivolous as revenge." She sat down with her knees to her chest, next to Akuha. "I'm not driven by 'orders' or a sense of justice; rather there is something I must do." She giggled. "You can kill me _after_ I have completed my task. I'd welcome it even."

Akuha coughed on her own blood. "Y… you're insane."

Talia shrugged with remorse. "Loss and loneliness can do that to a person, but that's something we have in common eh? Emotions can slay a person in so many ways, and I've been dead for quite some time now, devoid of a reason to live but this one task."

"Oh believe me," Akuha thought to herself, "I'd gladly grant your death-wish _right now_ if I were able to."

Talia set her purse down and searched through it. "You know, your lively interactions at this school really surprised me. At first I suspected that I didn't adequately understand you." She eyed Tsukune, who rested soundly nearby. "I can see now that you've actually changed a bit over the last two months." She looked back at Akuha. "Now then, I thought you'd be rather thirsty." Much to Akuha's surprise, Talia brought out a plastic bottle filled with medical blood. "Impractical yet convenient, right?" She unscrewed the cap and placed it near Akuha.

"Did ya get 'er?" a voice called from a distance, "Is she dead?"

Talia turned her head and noticed Galvinro with his men. She motioned at Akuha to stay still, like she wanted her to play dead. "Oh don't fret. Unless she guzzles down a bottle's worth of blood soon, she's gone."

Galvinro glared at the sludge that was once Dythe. "Oh great. You went off and lost both bio-creatures didn't ya?" He shook his head. "Gyokuro will not be pleased. Unlike you, me and my boys actually listen to her." he spat, "She'll be a lot harder on you."

Talia giggled rather sadistically. "Well, I'll be sure to let her know that I'm sorry."

Galvinro looked from a bloodied Akuha, to an unconscious Moka in his bodyguard's grasp. "Heh, we took care of the traitor, got our package of Shinso blood, It seems bragging rights go to Fairy Tale today!" He and his men started off.

Talia gave Akuha one last look. "Fare thee well, Black Devil. It has been an honor." She whispered, "I'll see you again soon." She took a few steps away. "Oh, and assuming the Headmaster is the man I think he is, he's already found a lead on where Moka is being taken to right now. I suggest you follow it." Her wings sprouted out loudly and she took off.

Akuha reached for the bottle right away. She didn't understand what Talia was getting at, but she wasn't about to argue. "Giggling creep."

XXX

To be continued blah blah blah in the next chapter…

* * *

**Like it or not, this is the last time a lengthy fight like this, or chapters 4, 11, and 23 will ever be done. This particular one didn't turn out the way I wanted.**

**I understand that there wasn't much to this fight, but the change was out of necessity rather than laziness. The original idea for this fight was to focus on Akuha's inner demons and what she'd almost done to Moka's mother; external and internal struggles at once. It was supposed to go on for two chapters instead of one, but due to being _so unmotivated to write_, it would be another couple of months before I finished the first paragraph.**


	31. Chpt 31: Sitting in The Dark

**This website, the Rosario + Vampire Wiki, and the manga translation that I read all have different spellings for Mafia Boy's name. Fong Fong, Fang Fang, Fan Fan… I decided to just use 'Fan Fan' because it's what I'm used to. We all know who's being mentioned anyways.**

* * *

**Gravel Path**

"Wow, the academy looks like it was hit _hard_." Fan Fan said. He could see a bit of smoke rising even from this far away. "This place looks like it's seen better days…"

"The attack occurred only three days ago." Fan Fan's older sister Ling Ling told him.

"I heard Fairy Tale sent its most powerful fighters to do the job, and yet two people here were powerful enough to have beaten them!" Fan Fan raised a closed fist near his chin in excitement. "We've searched far and wide for strong individuals, and I think we've finally found them, here at this academy."

"Don't expect a warm welcome though." Ling Ling said, continuing down the gravel pathway, "They probably have a lot to worry about _without_ someone pressuring them about 'eternal employment'."

"I never said it would be easy, but our enemy is their enemy." Fan Fan declared, "Besides, I won't ask them just once or twice. I'll get to know them, find out what appeals to them, and propose in a way they can't refuse."

"Are you aware that one of them is female?" asked Ling Ling.

"Yeah," Fan Fan cocked an eyebrow, "what about that?"

"You don't think she'll take 'you proposing to her' the wrong way? About her joining our family?"

"Uhm… why would she?"

Ling Ling stared at him for a moment, and just grinned. "Mmm… actually, forget I said anything. You try whatever you think will work." They continued on towards the academy.

XXX

**4 Years Ago – Clíodhna**

"Though bound by sorrow and loss, each one of us gathered here today bear a precious gift. We… all of us… have been privileged to live a life touched by this good man, excellent husband, and great father. He had many amazing gifts, and he shared them with us generously. He gave, gave, and gave… always attending to the needs of others, never once asking for anything in return, but none of his gifts were more remarkable than the wisdom he left us. Let us all strive to accept his gift and follow his example as an enduring tribute to this human man, husband to a yōkai, and father of one, who showed us all… that there can be peace… on this bitter earth." The priest closed his hands together and prayed. "Amen."

Behind the priest, the entirety of the massive church exterior was beyond packed and overcrowded. Every seat was full, every square inch of the walkways between them had someone standing or sitting, and people stretched out the door and into the courtyard. Nearly the entire region of the city was here, not just humans, but even many yōkai as well.

"Sheesh…" Akuha murmured, somewhat amused. She could easily see from this funeral that the people must have_ really_ liked him. She didn't. She hardly even knew the man, only his deeds. She had only come here as part of a self-made tradition she had, to pay respects to her more challenging opponents.

XXX

Akuha sat along the perimeter of a large fountain, positioned in the center of a large intersection of the city. Rivers of people walked all around for as far as she could see, happy voices were heard around her. Few people stopped by to gaze at the marvelous stone sculpture in the middle of the fountain. She didn't know what brought her to sit at a water fountain of all places. For whatever reason, she just felt like being near danger.

Being the second largest yōkai city in the world, and by far the wealthiest, this underwater city was always very extravagant, but it was especially breathtaking at this time of year. At least a quarter-million Christmas trees were set up along the city's tunnel every year, all decorated with countless trinkets and lights. Wreaths, bells, and other decorations were seen everywhere. The color of gold shined from every building.

The young vampire took a deep breath and relaxed. Thinking back on her last target, she didn't know much about him; she only killed him because she was ordered to. He was the wealthiest human in the city by far, and had tried to promote peace between the human and yōkai communities here. That didn't suit well with radical yōkai groups, namely Fairy Tale, and so naturally they wanted him gone. He was incredibly hard to kill though, despite being human. He was sharp, crafty, and crazy-prepared for an attempt on his life. He was also a fool, too soft and idealistic, ultimately leading to his death.

Akuha shrugged off the thought. "What's done is done." About a dozen carolers sang nearby. She tried to ignore them.

("_**It Came Upon The Midnight Clear**_"_ is commonly sung at Christmas time. Try youtubing Bing Crosby's version if you're unfamiliar with the tune. To me, it feels bland and lifeless without the rhythm_.)

_It came upon the midnight clear,_

_That glorious song of old,_

_From angels bending near the earth,_

_To touch their harps of gold._

_Peace on the Earth, goodwill to men_

_From heavens all gracious King._

_The world in solemn stillness lay_

_To hear the angels sing._

"Peace on Earth?" Akuha quoted, "As long as people pursue their desires, there won't be." She frowned at her own cynicism. Why'd she have to be so negative today? "Well… I guess it'd be nice though." She thought of her sister Moka; it had been three years since Akasha sent her away. Where was she now? What was she doing? Was she thinking of her sisters too? "Moka…" Akuha's feelings went from bitterness to sorrow. Vampires didn't care for Christian holidays, but she and her sisters enjoyed some happy times during the winter. The snowball fights they had were childish, yet she treasured those memories. She had a great time, all while planning to murder Moka's mother.

A little girl with long, straight white hair walked up.

Akuha jumped in surprise. "Moka?" she shouted. It wasn't Moka. The girl didn't look anything like her. Only her long white hair bore any resemblance, and it was still a little shorter than Moka's. Her facial features even showed that they were of different ethnicities.

"I'm sorry," the little girl bowed politely, "you must have me confused with someone else." She wore a plain black dress and a simple hair band. She was probably the age of 13, the same as Moka right now.

Akuha could tell just by looking at the girl that she was yōkai. She calmed down at that observation. "Hey, it's okay," she said calmly, "it's the season of forgiveness, right?"

"Among other things, yes." The girl leaned forward. "Are you waiting for someone?"

"Not really, I'm here alone."

"Alone?" The girl gave her a worried glance. "On Christmas Eve? Surely you jest."

"I'm a vampire, Christmas has never meant anything to me."

"Fair enough." The girl climbed onto the fountain frame and sat next to Akuha. "Take away family and friends; spiritual and allegorical meanings, and all that's left is forced jollity. Insincere goodwill on behalf of society's indulgence in commercialism."

"Erm…" Akuha eyed the girl curiously. She looked 13, but certainly didn't speak like she was. "In that case, what's Christmas to you? Presents, family, or the birth of Jesus Christ?"

"None." The girl smirked. "All of them. They each tie in together."

"How do presents tie in with Jesus?" Akuha asked out of boredom.

"Ah…" The girl stroked her hand across the water behind them. "The all-powerful creator coming to earth in the flesh was like a precious gift. Instead of appearing in power and majesty, he came down to our level as a meat bag, knowing full well how terribly he would be treated." She lifted a lily from the fountain waters and stared down at it. "He did that because of love, just as we show love for our family and friends today, giving and asking for nothing in return…" she smirked, "some of us anyways."

Akuha gave an impressed, but puzzled nod. "I take it you're a frequent Bible reader."

"I read whatever I can find."

Akuha looked through the crowds around her. "I've actually read a bit of it myself, but between the existence of yōkai and magic spells…" She made a mild shrug. "I don't know. It sort of seems… far-fetched."

"Just because something sounds absurd doesn't mean you can't believe it." The girl gently placed the lily back in the fountain. "Personally, I don't think it matters if the gospels really happened or not. Their importance is the meanings they each carry, and those are most certainly real."

Akuha nodded. She didn't say anything for a while. "You seem pretty relaxed around a vampire."

"Oh?" The girl glanced at her at the change of subjects. "Mmm… you wouldn't be the first I've met though. I was actually fairly close to another of your kind once."

Akuha shook her head. "I doubt that. There was only one vampire family in this city, and they left nine years ago."

"The head of that family went insane. I'm all too aware."

"Speaking of families, don't you have one to go to right now?" Akuha asked the girl, trying to brush her off. "I don't care if you're fascinated with vampires or like to explore. Your parents probably wouldn't approve of you wandering on your own."

"Parents?" The girl suddenly burst out laughing, like that was the most hilarious thing she had ever heard.

Akuha felt irritated. "_What_ is so funny?"

The girl leapt off the fountain's edge. "I'm not speaking to you because of a fondness to your kind, nor to be away from my parents." She looked back at Akuha. "I have no one else to speak to." She turned and wandered off.

Akuha watched as the girl disappeared into the crowds. "What a strange girl." She stood up and decided that her break was over. She had a lot more people on her murder-list, and her superiors were adding people to it faster than she was killing them.

Two devils, one black, and one white. Akuha liked dogs, Talia liked cats. Akuha was dressed for battle, Talia wore a gown. Akuha was serious and straightforward, Talia was energetic and playful. Akuha used strength and skill, Talia used cunning and trickery. They were opposites, the Black Devil and the White Devil.

XXX

**Present Time – Yōkai Academy**

Akuha opened her eyes, finding herself in a warm bed within a quiet room. A clock on the wall had its hour hand over the eight. It was probably 8:00 PM as it was dark outside, though the moon was shining very brightly. She slowly sat up and made a heavy sigh.

"I was expecting you'd spring up and scream 'Moka!' or 'Tsukune!'" Ruby said from another bed nearby. Her torso was completely encased in bandages.

Akuha pulled up the blue pajama shirt she was wearing and looked at her stomach. The wound was gone. There was no scar, deformed skin, or any indication that it was ever there. "So…" Akuha finally said, "how long was I out?"

"It's been three days since the riot." Ruby blinked, and looked up at the ceiling. "From what I heard, it was Mizore that brought you and Tsukune here safely."

"Here?"

"We're in the dormitories. These were the only buildings spared during the chaos."

"The attack was selective…" Akuha whispered to herself. "How's your right shoulder?"

Ruby looked at her, confused. "I don't remember telling you where I was hurt."

Akuha shrugged. "I've studied anatomy."

Ruby continued to stare at her. "It makes you a better killer doesn't it?"

Akuha just nodded. "Anyways… what's been going on while I was out?"

"Umm…" Ruby figured they had nothing better to do. "Not long after we brought you here, the Headmaster had returned. Naturally, he was upset over the state of the academy."

"Why was he gone in the first place?"

"Fairy Tale was apparently attacking some major city nearby. They tried to submerge the whole place into the ground, along with everyone in it."

Akuha felt taken aback. Fairy Tale never did anything so brashly and in-the-open unless they were planning something huge.

"The Headmaster barley stopped them in time, although…"

"Although what?" The thought of Talia's 'lead' came to mind. "They took or left something there didn't they?"

"Erm… yeah." Ruby eyed her warily. "I don't know what it was, but the Headmaster did say something about a powerful artifact or weapon there being stolen."

"I'll be sure to ask him about it." Akuha said, feeling restless, "Still, for someone that's supposed to be all-knowing, leaving the academy the way he did was a pretty dumb move."

"Mikogami _was_ thinking before he left." Ruby shot back, "He was gone for 4 hours, but he left the school in the hands of a vampire that knew martial arts. The city he saved had a population of 520,000 while this school barley reaches 1,000 people, and lets not forget that…" she paused, "_most_ of the students that died here were hooligans and delinquents. In fact they've _always_ killed each other on campus."

Akuha thought of the blind kid's last moments. He didn't deserve that fate.

"To be entirely honest," Ruby made a bleak face, "after a few months, it doesn't look like things will be much different from before."

"After the school was blown up?"

"Investments haven't fallen much, surprisingly. The thing is, nearly all the students that actually _care_ about their education were, at worst, spooked. If that isn't enough, repairs to the school shouldn't take long with magic."

Akuha climbed out of bed, noticing three other beds with wounded students in them, each were sound asleep. She didn't feel the least bit hurt, only sore from laying down for so long. "In any event, I'm going out for a stretch." She spotted her combat outfit neatly folded at the foot of her bed. It was mended, smooth, and squeaky clean. "Huh? Weren't my clothes shredded?"

"Yukari sewed your clothes back together with a spell," Ruby said, "though it took her a couple tries."

Akuha reached down and grabbed her attire. "That's good," she said happily, "I guess she isn't so bad after-" She noticed something off about it. "_Aiya_!" she yelled in horror, "It's all pink and yellow!"

"Oh, that side-effect…" Ruby smirked, "When Yukari got the spell to work, your outfit changed color for some reason. She tried to change it back, but…"

Akuha's fingers twitched. "So it's an accident?" She recalled the pink and yellow she wore back at Tsukune's place. "Yeah right…" She dropped the outfit onto her bed. "Ruby, do you have anything I could borrow?"

"Borrow?" Ruby smiled. "Sure, check the suitcase near my bed. I got some homemade clothing in there."

"Homemade?" Akuha reached down, grabbed the suitcase, and opened it. "So you sewed these yourself? That's actually…" She took a good, long look at the outfits. "Uh…" In the suitcase was a playboy bunny girl suit. "Er…" Below that lay a skimpy maid outfit and a nurse dress. "When you think you know someone…"

"Take your pick." Ruby teased. That was her true colors, sophisticated, proper, and _really_ perverted.

XXX

Akuha walked out of the room and into the dorm hallways. She wore her usual black combat boots, but also one of the girl's academy uniforms. Not ageing made finding the perfect fit a little too easy. She closed the door behind her and looked down the dimly lit hallways. The power was restored, yet very few people had their lights on for some reason.

"You're already awake?" Ginei said behind her.

As Akuha turned around, she felt her frilled skirt flip up. "Ah!" She covered herself. "Why do these skirts flip up so easily?"

"Ire…" Ginei paused, "I mean Talia… I remember she asked the same thing."

Akuha's initial urge was to punch him in the face, but felt he had been through enough. "You holding up?"

"I'm not hurt or anything." Ginei tried to make a flattering smile. "I didn't think you cared though."

"I'm not talking about the beating I gave you." Akuha relaxed herself and spoke politely. "No, I'm talking about your last girlfriend."

"Oh." Ginei's smile faded. "Well how do you expect I feel about that?" He leaned against the wall. "Here I meet the girl of my dreams, as hot as Moka for crying out loud, and unlike Moka she actually _likes_ me." He dropped his gaze to the floor. "She even enjoys being around me and accepts me for who I am, _and then_ what happens? It turns out that she is evil!"

"That's rough, buddy."

"We talked and flirted so much. I felt I had really gotten to know her." Ginei rested his back on the wall. "Though I don't know if anything she told me was true."

Akuha felt a little bad for him. "For better or for worse, I think you should know that she _was_ sincere in getting to know you."

Ginei looked at her, surprised. "Wait, what?"

"She didn't hang out with you only as a means to an end. She had no one else to speak to."

"What are you talking about? How would you know?"

"I know _her_." Akuha said, "I guess you could say… she was lonely. It's something she and I had in common."

XXX

Akuha strode down the hallways, looking down at herself. It seemed mind-boggling how well she had healed, especially when considering her wounds. Her bones didn't' break, they shattered She didn't just have cuts and scratches, she had a hole punched through her. Now, her bones were merely stiff and her skin was smooth. Maybe those drugs she took gave a serious boost to her vampire healing, or maybe someone like Mikogami had something to do with this.

Many students were hanging around, in the hallways as well as the rooms. While many were still frightened, some seemed almost casual for what had happened three days ago. Some were doing homework together, some talked about movies and entertainment, and others conversed about the riot.

"They were like the 'bloody sploicers' or something." said a student, trying to sound Irish on the word 'splicers'.

Akuha felt a little grim. "People die and they joke about it?" Thinking back on it, these kids were spooked by what they heard happened, not saw. Furthermore, the only friends that the violent half of the school had were each other.

Through the windows, dozens of tents could be seen with people camping outside.

Besides Akuha's black attire, something else felt missing. She brought her hand to her neck. "Where'd that necklace go?" She had completely forgotten about it since the rioting began. It must have fallen off during her rematch with Dythe. Eventually she made her way outside, and passed through the long aisles of tents.

"Akuha?" Kurumu said down the walkway. "I thought you were a student at first. You really fit in!"

Akuha walked up to the succubus. "Good to see you're fine."

"Same to you." Kurumu inspected her closely, not detecting any sign of injury. "Wow, you're really tough. It's like you brush your teeth with barbed wire, blow bubbles with jerky, and use Tabasco Sauce for eye drops. Nothing hurts you."

"Only pain." Akuha said, "Do you know where Tsuk is by any chance?"

"Straight to the point, eh?" Kurumu pointed towards the charred debris and rubble that was once the school. "Tsukune's been hanging out _there_ a lot, night and day."

"Thanks." Akuha leapt into the air, flying over the groups of tents, and fading away into the dark of the night.

"Well that was a short reunion…"

XXX

**Charred Rooftop**

Tsukune stood at the railing, overlooking the tents and dorm buildings from where he was. The buildings were dark, yet he knew people were in them. He looked at the golden chain and onyx shards in his palm. It was all that remained of the necklace he had once given to someone.

Akuha landed on the far side of the roof behind Tsukune. For a while, she could only stare at him silently. What could she to say to him? He was probably thinking about Moka, and if that were the case it'd be better to leave him alone for now. Akuha wished she could tell him how big of a choice she had made on his and Moka's behalf, but doing so would require explaining how dedicated she once was to _wiping out all humans_. She had done so much for that cause, yet she just turned around out of nowhere and no one noticed.

Shards of onyx glittered wildly in the moonlight on Tsukune's hand. At that, Akuha finally started towards him.

Next to Tsukune, Akuha leaned against the railing where Moka always used to. He came close to shouting 'Moka?', as she were wearing the same school uniform. He just gave her a nod, not knowing what to say.

"All those people just sitting in the dark…" Akuha said, watching the dorm buildings and tents in the distance. "Do they really think they're any safer with their lights off?"

Tsukune made a weak, but passionate smile. "Just like a little kid that thinks if he shuts his eyes, no one can see him."

"Pointless…" Akuha shrugged.

"Well it makes him feel better." Tsukune handed her the shattered onyx necklace. "Sorry about your birthday gift. It got broken during the fight." He poured the shards into Akuha's hand.

"Gift eh?" Akuha stared at the mess. "We show love by giving and asking for nothing in return…" she whispered to herself.

"I know it's just a trinket, but you don't seem upset at all. I thought you liked that necklace."

Akuha nodded. She liked the necklace because it reminded her of herself, but she wasn't that person anymore. "At least now, I can let it go." She tossed the shards into the distance. They no longer meant anything to her.

"Akuha." Tsukune declared strongly, staring into her eyes.

Akuha felt herself drift. "Tsukune…"

"I know this is sudden, but…" Tsukune felt his heart sink, thinking about how easily Dythe had beaten him before his memory blacked out. "I'm weak… I'm completely useless in a fight as I am now. I hardly even know how to fight!" He placed his hand to his chest and declared his request loudly. "I beg you, teach me to fight as you do, make me strong!"

Akuha stared at him without a word. It looked like all the trouble he always found had finally pushed him. "So I guess that's a 'yes' to my suggestion then."

The two of them stared out across the open field as the moon shined brightly.

XXXXX

Will be continued in 'Black Tears'.

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